GWR/LMS OO Gauge DCC RR&Co

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

With the Zimo default CV settings top speed was off the scale! The loco was approaching 40mph at speed step 7:shock: so without adjustment slow speed crawling wasnt an option! Now its adjusted….CV6 mid voltage is at 50…..I have a nice smooth slightly concave curve.

….last 4 days have been spent trying to persuade the 30 year old storage turntable not to give up the ghost……replacing that will make a huge hole in Granby’s budget:sad:

 Now that is most useful to know John, many thanks and I too must order some more Zimos and see how long the post Brexit transition period post is from the UK. Oh and well done for joining the Mogul twinning club!
   
  Good luck with the 'encouraging'. I hope you have a suitable frightening tool to inspire the recalcitrant TT back into useful life!
   
  Best,
   
  Bill
  

Sorry to butt in but I'm not sure any post-brexit postal delays will be your main problem Bill - I suspect it will be duty and VAT pyments !
Zimo are made in Austria and shipped to UK.  Given all thr new problems, I decided to source their decoders from within the Union.

I have therefore,  bought from 2 outlets in Germany.  No discounts unfortunately but they did at least have stock and postage was less than when I tried to buy from UK last year and, in 1 case, very efficient ……..

Thanks for the sanity check Peter, as I’ve previously sourced Lenz decoders from Germany, so post Brexit shopping really should be within the EU. I’ve been paying £20 plus shipping for discounted Zimos in the UK, so it will be interesting to see how it will work our within the EU. I’ll start my search on Ebay and see what’s what.   

Sorry for this interesting diversion John and back to post 2941.
 
Cheers,
 
Bill

Good luck with your Zimo search Bill. Over the years I have bought some Lenz stuff from Germany. I have always found them to be very efficient but the euro:$Cdn rate was never very good so it tended to be a source of last resort. Should work better for you though.

To complete the Mogul settings I have CV 29 set at 34 which means DC operation, RailCom and Custom speed curves  are turned off and just long address and 28 speed steps turned on. HTH

The turntable is a bit of an issue……I bought it used in the early 90s…….I didnt pay very much for it so it probably doesnt owe me anything ! I have had to do a lot of Heath Robinson work with the electrics and its beginning to show…unfortunately it now plays a key role in the automated out and back routines I have developed. On a typical operating day it probably is in action more often the ultra reliable Engine Shed TT…….I suspect I am just putting off the inevitable. In which case you will win the Signal Challenge in a canter!

Keep safe

Back to the Hotel.



This picture is, perhaps, somewhat deceiving.  Its overall structure hasnt really changed since the following photos were taken in the fall. Three quite separate low relief models arranged in a U formation.


mu





With the arrival of winter most of the construction takes place  in the kitchen. The Jamie Oliver and Elizabeth David books used as weights are a big clue.  It will not surprise you to learn that a week before Christmas I got an  eviction notice from Mrs D!
 
  I did however make some of progress in the  final week.

The first job was to glue the three modules together into a single robust structure that would form the foundations for rooves and the very visible rear of the building
 
This was the moment when I moved away from John Wiffen's detailed step by step instructions and started designing myself…..on a wing and a prayer











Not quite as elegant as John's support structures. In truth its only rarely that I model interiors…….the back scenes for the side wings were over prints but will be useful as guides for positioning support floors. 

The next step was to start building out the centre section



The rear centre sub-wall ties the two wings together.

I  have tried to match the front window configuration but the top floor  had to be free lance to line up with the dormers on the wings. This sub wall  will eventually be clad with a second clad and glazed wall.


The entire center section will be surmounted by a hipped roof

The sub-wall acts as support wall for the roof foundation. 



The edges of the roof foundation are clad to allow for a less than perfect roof fit!




Afraid that was a bit dry and dusty……gets more interesting next post when we will see whether the roof fits.

Stay safe

The hotel is looking great John and will be a fine addition to Granby.  I don't know if I am understanding things right…. Is it to be a U-shaped building or will you be adding a rear wall to create a square? I imagined the latter when you started, but now I see it like this I'm thinking it is the former.  That would look great, if it were the case, with a sort of internal courtyard.  Statues and a water fountain perhaps?!
Michael

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

The hotel is looking great John and will be a fine addition to Granby.  I don't know if I am understanding things right…. Is it to be a U-shaped building or will you be adding a rear wall to create a square? I imagined the latter when you started, but now I see it like this I'm thinking it is the former.  That would look great, if it were the case, with a sort of internal courtyard.  Statues and a water fountain perhaps?!
Michael

Thanks Michael

No problem……I get confused!:roll:

Its going to be U shaped with each of the three original modules increased in depth leaving a smallish centre courtyard……sort of…….it backs right on to the railway so the statues and fountain have to be concealed in some way……actually I was thinking along the lines of a Palm Court but a water fountain??? …….that would be interesting.

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

..actually I was thinking along the lines of a Palm Court but a water fountain??? …….that would be interesting.

Actually one very fine Exhibition layout here in South Australia, one year had a  trickling stream that the water got caught in bucket with a fish pond pump to reuse it,. They thought all was sealed 100% but over the course of 3.5 days (approx 25 hours)  of running, it slowly soaked into the plaster, etc and they did not use that idea ( which the public thought was perfect) again.
Murphy's Law ?

I too seem to have got a little confused with the hotel but all is now clear. I am sure it will make a fantastic addition to your layout and is looking fantastic as is. Really looking forward to seeing it as it develops - keep the pics coming. Running water feature now there is a challenge, could be a great feature or an unmitigated disaster, maybe put it on the back burner for now.

That hotel build is stunning very nice! 
I'd like a junior suite and a wake up call at 8 please.

Thanks guys……glad you like the update.
After Ron’s post I think I will give the water a miss!

I quite agree…. I mention a fountain and they are off making it a real water feature!!  Whatever you decide, it is going to look great.
Michael

I hadn't imagined it as a "U shape" John - as others, I'd always thought of it as a rectangular block.

The U shape is a stroke of sheer genius !!!

As a rectangle, it would have been an extremely impressive building with a big impact in the square.  As a U shape, it moves to a totally different level.  That really is very, very impressive.  An extremely imposing building - I can't imagine how such a building came to be in Granby - it deserves pride of place in a large city somewhere (perhaps to the east of Windy Hill ……………………….. :roll: :roll: :roll:)

I can see the neat box edged rose beds and gravel paths in that suntrap - or maybe Portland stone paved walkways around some kind of centrepiece, the "best rooms" facing inwards away from the noise and fumes of the traffic - and to dot the "i", an unobstructed view of the turntable ………………………….have I got the hotel the right way round ?  :hmm

As I know I've said before, your imagination in creating Granby is absolutely mind blowing.  This hotel is going to be magnificent !!

Peter has summed it up perfectly.  It isn't just a model, it's a great piece of architecture.
Michael

Oh dear……you guys are far too kind. I am more than a little afraid that you are going to be disappointed.
The hotel backs directly on to the railway……the ground floor is fine…..grotty behind the scenes kitchens with venting…..the challenge is making the remaining 5 floors both interesting and realistic……hence the U shape.

 Hopefully I can get the “ Palm Court” to look reasonably credible…….but the good news is that I think I can build a Langley fire escape kit up the back of one of the wings and this should draw the eye away from the Palm trees.:roll:

Time will tell…..the dead line is March…..but it may slip a bit:sad:


Edited……..just re read Peter’s response:oops:.  The already completed centre will face on to “Station Square”……..the u shape with courtyard faces the railway…….I should have mentioned the courtyard will actually have a roof over it.:shock::shock:  

Dont worry about the confusion……Doreen has been watching it grow on the kitchen table…..she had a a totally different idea to me about the court yards purpose and location:lol::roll:  

On with the hipped roof for the front of the Hotel




The width and length of the roof are obviously fixed but the height can, to some extent, be varied.

There is a formula for calculating the other dimensions but trigonometry was never a strong point at school……and that was a while ago!

I just played around with card templates to try and establish the optimum height



The hotel dominates the station area already so this is obviously too high but a few adjustments produced a more acceptable version.






 Dry fit to test  







Cover with Scalescenes copper sheeting




Insert strengtheners



I mentioned earlier that John Wiffen sent me photos of another modellers three dimensional hotel and it was from there that I got the idea of using Copper sheeting.

Nice snug fit……I need not have bothered with the edging!








Next stage : finish the rear wall and build out the inside of the wings and add a row of dormers to match those on the outside.



I have also just finished weathering the Dapol Moguls so next week I should have few loco photos for you

Keep Safe

Well John, it just keeps getting better.  That is a very fine roof, not only from the modelling point of view but also architecturally.  It adds just the right touch of grandeur and the fact it isn't tiles will make a pleasing skyline variation.  A very neat job indeed and I like the ridge "tiles" - not sure what you call it with a copper roof! - very neat and precise to finish the whole thing off.  
I can't wait to see the ornate Victorian glass roof covering the courtyard….. that was the plan, right?  :cool wink

Michael

Just the right kind of roof for a grand hotel 👍

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

Well John, it just keeps getting better.  That is a very fine roof, not only from the modelling point of view but also architecturally.  It adds just the right touch of grandeur and the fact it isn't tiles will make a pleasing skyline variation.  A very neat job indeed and I like the ridge "tiles" - not sure what you call it with a copper roof! - very neat and precise to finish the whole thing off.  
I can't wait to see the ornate Victorian glass roof covering the courtyard….. that was the plan, right?  :cool wink

Michael

Over here it's ridge capping. And yes it looks superb.

Coming on a treat John, really looking the part  ;-)