GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

I am mightily impressed that you can get programme such control, John.  That must take a lot of trial and error - not to mention  patience!  I don't think my simple layout warrants computer control, but even so I admire that aspect of teh hobby.  Olovely to see some other parts of the layout too.
Michael

Thanks Michael

You are right there is a lot of testing……there are so many variables any one of which can decide to be awkward and screw up the entire sequence. I have realised that I am more tolerant of minor glitches when operating manually……if the sequence is automated you just have keep soldiering on until you have eliminated the errant loco, wagon or coupling (one is reminded of “for want of a nail ….” etc)

The uncoupling routines are a bit cut and paste now. Over time I have built a sequence of commands that usually work

Cheers

John

[user=2137]Briperran[/user] wrote:

Thankyou very much for your reply and explanation regarding the uncoupling John.
Especially outlining the wrinkles ones does encounter.
Its an area i have never tackled in the past i intend to implement this on this small o gauge project im about to start the kaddee option does look well worth looking at as i will not be having that much stock on the layout so cost will not be to much of an issue. If i were to do that on the oo layout the cost would be horrendous but your idea of only putting the kaddee on the front or back of the rake and retaining tension locks for the rest makes good economic sense.
Do you know if the permanant magnets they sell are strong enough to operate the couplings below the track sleepers or possibly under a baseboard? I realise you find you need adjust things and move the magnets sometimes with your set up to find the best position.

many thanks

Brian

Hi  Brian

So glad my reply was useful

You can cut the magnets into the sleepers so they are level with the top of the sleepers…..if you are not using many you can construct a crossing with plasticard on either side and that disguises them

Not sure about under the sleepers but I am pretty certain they would not work under the baseboard.

You should check out the small magnets ( neo something) you can get in bulk very inexpensively on ebay….they can be buried or made to look like sleepers. I think Ron and Michael or Colin have used them….they should be able to help.

Best wishes

John

What a difference a week makes!

A fortnight ago we flew from Vancouver to spend  a week with friends in Puerto Vallarta Mexico. Obviously we were aware of the impending pandemic and, although there was no travel advisory in place, did consider cancelling. In truth, other than the outgoing flight being half empty there was virtually no evidence of an emergency either at Vancouver Airport or during our very relaxing stay in our friends beach side apartment……it was, in fact, quite idyllic…….

The week was over far too soon and we returned home to find the world turned upside down. We are now in self isolation not only because of the return flight but also because many of the 270 confirmed cases and deaths (6) in BC have taken place in a Care Home about 2 miles away from our house. Fortunately we are well stocked up……although the wine is somewhat depleted……and both daughters live near us and can do top up shopping for us.

We can still walk the dog in a nearby park……keeping 6' away from fellow walkers……….the weather is springlike (albeit cooler than Mexico), there is lots to do in the garden and I am permitted from time to time to venture into the railway room.  All things considered we are very fortunate…..and continue to count our blessings.

Best wishes


John

John

Hi John,

 Yes, doesn't it just! I'm glad to hear that you had a relaxing break though and that despite the madness, your home life still seems workable.

Here in France, we're in lockdown, where we have enforced isolation at home, only allowed out for food shopping, medical reasons and exercise, but only on foot and at a 2 metre distance from anyone else. Like you, we are pretty much well stocked and the wine cellar has a sufficiency for our needs, as we are not allowed to have friends round to help us drink it! Besides food shops, doctors and the vet, pretty much everything is closed and the streets deserted.
  
The peace and tranquillity, combined with warm sunny days suits us well and the gardens and DIY jobs are getting done, although I can no longer shop for further building supplies, so will soon have no option other than return to modelling and get some of the many kits on the workbench.
  
  Keep safe and enjoy the girls doing the shopping for you and of course you visits to the railway room.

Best,

Bill

Likewise John, glad to hear your news. You too Bill.  it is reassuring to hear from members and that they are ok.  
I have been drafted back into a school to help organise provision for pupils here and co-ordinate things.  Sadly, needless to say, the government has produced a strategy which is half finished and vague at best, but we have to do what we can. At least I feel I am being of some practical use. 

Regards

Michael

[user=434]John Dew[/user] wrote:

I spent most of my time last week wrestling with RR&Co. I suspect few of the followers of this thread share my fascination with computor control but I hope you would agree that an account of day to day life on Granby would be incomplete without the occasional passing reference to Train Controller.

One of the essential elements of computor control is that every train on the layout is shown in the same block ( and facing the same way !) on the computor screen. In an ideal world the shortest block will accommodate the longest train but in practice this is not always the case. There are protocols for dealing with a train that overhangs into the previous block but I managed to really confuse RR&Co with this scenario: 

A Dean Goods backs the branch goods into a short siding, uncouples the brake van and then leaves in the opposite direction to shunt the yard.




This is normally a straightforward procedure . However the fact that the train occupied two blocks and was then separated into two separate units one of which reversed direction produced some very "unexpected results".

Typically the computor located  the rest of the train in the short block and the brake van in front of it in the previous block ! This was not helpfu.

I lost count of the number of times I ran that schedule back and forth. If nothing else, I proved that not only is patience a virtue, but adding a Zimo decoder +stay alive to an Oxford Dean Goods transforms its performance. It literally did not miss a beat…….not a moments hesitation as it pushed a 7 car train over dodgy track at scale 10 mph




After much trial and tribulation I finally devised a means of convincing the computor to believe me. It could not be described as an elegant solution…..in fact Heath Robinson verges on flattery…….but it works:

Computor screen and reality are as one again

The brake van is uncoupled:




The rest of the train heads back to start shunting





For those few of you found the RR&Co stuff interesting , you can find a more detailed explanation of the problem and solution here

https://www.freiwald.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=34766

I hope that everyone else did not find it too boring. If nothing else it gave me the opportunity to post more photos of what is rapidly becoming one of my favourite locos





Regards from Vancouver where we are in holiday mode….next week we will be flying to Mexico for a short break

John

Sorry I am a bit late to this particular post John, but I must say your Dean Goods looks fantastic. How did you manage to get the green that darker colour (it looks particularly accurate)? The standard model which I have is no where near that colour even after some toning down.

Connor

Many thanks for the kind words and good wishes guys. As we approach the end of our travel isolation we are both well and have no untoward symptons……..Once it is over not very much will change because, like most countries, Canada is now in a virtual lock down.

Looking on the bright side…..the Tomato seeds have started to germinate…..I have trimmed the hedges ……and there is masses of modelling to do.

Keep well….Best wishes

John

Sorry I am a bit late to this particular post John, but I must say your Dean Goods looks fantastic. How did you manage to get the green that darker colour (it looks particularly accurate)? The standard model which I have is no where near that colour even after some toning down.    Connor

Thanks Connor………glad you like it

A few coats of diluted Vallejo Black Wash  followed by one or two coats of diluted Brown wash. I mop up some of the surplus with cotton buds. I put fewer coats on the firebox and polish it up a bit. When all this is done I soft brush grey/black weathering powder over the entire loco but with special emphasis on the the boiler, cab roof and running plates

Hope this helps

Best wishes

John

Afternoon John just stopped by to say Hi, I'm still about I hope to join a local club soon so I can run my stock I bought a flat and now moved in it is a bit of a state 50K off the going rate, there is no room for a large layout I've a small 009 to play with.
your laout is looking good speak soon Bob

Hi Bob
Good to hear from you.I imagine life has been a bit hectic! I do hope the move went well and you are settling in ok. Looking forward to reading about your 009 layout although it sounds as though you have a lot of renovating to do first.

Keep well

Best wishes

John

We are now entering day 28 of self isolation…….I cant really call it a lock down …..Canada seems to have a slightly more relaxed approach than the UK…..certainly the Mounties are not rushing about fining people. The emphasis is on self distancing and using common sense when shopping for essentials……fortunately the liquor store is deemed to be essential.

To be honest, with us both retired (from work and sailing) daily life is pretty much unchanged. Admittedly, its a little surreal, during the daily dog walk chatting to people from a carefully calculated 2M distance or, even more bizarre, drinking rose on the deck with Daughter#2……seated 2m away…..clad in rubber gloves daintily holding the glass she has specially brought with her!

So I continue to spend 2 or 3 hours most days in the train room. Not much modelling, the majority of the time has been spent fine tuning the automated commutor runs to and from the bays at north end of Granby. All the eight locos involved have now been converted to Zimo chips plus some form of stay alive which has resulted in a significant improvement in consistent accurate stopping. Not to the extent that I no longer check that the loco has uncoupled/ coupled……..but now I do so in the expectation that it has been successful.

The downside of all this operation and consequent leaning over the layout has resulted in an increase in "collateral damage" to the usual targets……signal poles and lamposts.





Daily maintenance recently! Lost count of the number of times the yard lamp has been fixed……..dont even ask about the branch signals…….out of shot for obvious reasons.


Change of pace…….this is a close up cropped from the shot above:






Another figure from the Langley school girls kit








and finally…….Jones the milk:





Keep well……stay safe

Best wishes



John

Good you are both keeping safe John i think this is going to go on a lot longer than people think so our modelling time will be greatly enhanced.
The trouble i am finding i am creating more jobs than ever as im always thinking of new ideas and changes at this rate i will need to live to 150 years old :roll:


Brian

[user=2137]Briperran[/user] wrote:

Good you are both keeping safe John i think this is going to go on a lot longer than people think so our modelling time will be greatly enhanced.
The trouble i am finding i am creating more jobs than ever as im always thinking of new ideas and changes at this rate i will need to live to 150 years old :roll:


Brian

Thanks Brian…….I do hope things are going well for……you have enough on your plate without this virus.

I think you are right about how long it will take…..I fully expect to be like this until June….if not longer.

Like you my to do list continues to grow (and its not just broken signals :twisted:) and the more routines I develop the less time I spend on the list! :roll:…….I guess it keeps us occupied though

Best wishes

John

Somehow I missed this update.  Again, nice to see some of the detail in a part of the layout that has often been in the background.  
Did you finish the hotel?

Regards

Michael

[user=1512]Headmaster[/user] wrote:

Somehow I missed this update.  Again, nice to see some of the detail in a part of the layout that has often been in the background.  
Did you finish the hotel?

Regards

Michael

Thanks Michael. Repairs apart, most of my modelling time recently has been spent operating trains…….I find if I dont run the routines regularly I forget the sequence which can create "unexpected results".

I keep looking at the hotel and prevaricating……I quite enjoy working with Scalescenes on the deck under a sun umbrella……so with the weather continuing to improve I may make a start soon on a corner module.

Keep well

Best wishes

John

One of the many attractions of this hobby is the fact it is so varied…….if one gets fed up with one particular job (ballasting springs to mind) one can swiftly change gears and focus on something entirely different.


Having spent most of the last few weeks running trains I decided to take a short break and do some people painting:




On the left are some 3D printed figures from Modelu , on the right a set of white metal cast figures from Langley


Quite a contrast:




Neither are perfect for Granby. The Modelu figures were scanned from real live models circa 2018. In many ways they are more natural, particularly the drape and look of clothing…….albeit they can be difficult to paint accurately. However a glance at any photograph of the late forties shows that workmen of that era were generally shorter and considerably slimmer than these rather well fed gentlemen!



The Langley figures are almost the direct opposite. These guys look more suited for a Victorian or Edwardian time period.





Beautifully engraved …..they are generally a delight to paint…the exception being the faces which can be less than convincing.

Overall they are a little small…..almost as though they were designed at the mid point between 00 and H0….the overall impression can be a bit Hobbit like 

 Despite all this they can be quite effective in situ…….here are two on the Canal Warehouse


  


The trick is to avoid placing such different styles side by side

Fortunately the intended location for these guys couldnt be further apart

The Langley figures will go on the Metcalfe Warehouse which is part of the Engine Shed Back Scene




Their smaller height and exaggerated poses should work well when viewed from a distance….sort of forced perspective.


Some of the Modelu figures will go on another Metcalfe Warehouse 1n the opposite corner of the room




 This warehouse is part of the storage yard screen immediately above the computor screen. Right in my face so to speak…….I will have to exercise extra care with the painting…..I dont want to be constantly reminded of  that wayward drop of smudged paint.


 
There is a third warehouse, also in a very prominent position, that needs attention.

The flat roof of the Soap Factory right by the doorway
 


I have a cunning plan for this




I hope you are all well and enjoying life as best you can during the lockdown

Best Wishes

I'll bet it took you a whole day to drink enough vino for those painting stands …………………………….

You have no idea how much time I can spend looking at your shots of Granby John.  It doesn't matter what you post, I just have to spend time studying the detail.  That storage yard area still blows my mind and there's always something I miss first time around.

I'm slightly surprised by the close-ups of the figures.  I'd imagined the Modelu ones would be "cleaner" given today's high quality processes but they do seem to have bits of flash requiring cleaning up.  Are they hard plastic or poly type stuff ?  I'm wondering how well they take paint - acrylic or enamel and do you use a primer first ?

 Those deck chairs look fantastic - what did you use as a former to bend the "canvas" ?

Hope you're all staying safe over there - what is the situation in Vancouver ?  We don't hear much about it in France - but then it's also sometimes difficult to find out what's going on here in France too !!!
  

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

I'll bet it took you a whole day to drink enough vino for those painting stands …………………………….

   and that is without allowing for all the screw caps :cheers

[user=6]Petermac[/user] wrote:

You have no idea how much time I can spend looking at your shots of Granby John.  It doesn't matter what you post, I just have to spend time studying the detail.  That storage yard area still blows my mind and there's always something I miss first time around.

Hope you're all staying safe over there - what is the situation in Vancouver ?  We don't hear much about it in France - but then it's also sometimes difficult to find out what's going on here in France too !!!

Hi Peter

Good to hear from you and thank you for the nice comments…..you must be Granby's oldest (as in longest serving) and most enthusiastic follower :thumbs

Doreen and I hope both you and Liz (and Prudence of course) are well and not too inconvenienced by the lock down. We are both well and having been retired for so long our daily routine has not been affected that much.

You ask about the overall situation here……I had a sense that Canada (and particularly British Columbia) were faring somewhat better than both Europe and the USA but thought I should do some googling:

British Columbia has a population of 5 million, we have had a total of 1250 cases and 43 deaths (20 of which, tragically, came from a care home about 2 miles from our house in North Vancouver) 

By way of comparison (although, of course, not all countries measure the same way) both Norway and Scotland  have similar populations. Norway has recorded 6000 cases and 100 deaths, Scotland has 4000 cases and 366 deaths. We are particularly fortunate that our CMO was in Toronto during the SARS epidemic. This experience must be invaluable………now we just have to hope that the graph will continue to flatten

Keep Well

Best Wishes

John