SX Problems Solved and a Day Out

On Monday this week a group of us distinguished modellers went down to the Gold Coast via train and tram.  We had lunch at the Broadbeach Tavern and then came home.  I think Clinton is still on his way.  Clinton missed the train down, missed one of the tram sections.  It was quite amusing.  While on the trip Arthur was advising what 12mm wheel back to back that he uses.  I eventually got a new battery for my Vernier Callipers and then adjusted all the originally IDR SX bogies to Arthur’s magic 12.3mm  Most of mine were set to 12.3mm – 12.34mm.  I also had to cut out some of the underside of the centre sill so the bogies can turn to fit though some Peco 12mm curve points.  I also had to move the couplers out to the outside location so I do not get coupler lock through a set of Peco 12mm points configured in a cross over arrangement.  However, I have now completed all my improvements to the coaches and they run through all the trackage on my layout without issues now.  One might expect that for $750 they might come already in that mode.

On Tuesday, I added a power supply to the Fairy Hill section.  This is a bridge rectifier connected across the track power and then a capacitor added to smooth out the power.  I connected that to the Arduino used in this section to power the Fairy Hill Community Hall Disco and the various vehicle lights on Fairy Lane.  So I have removed a USB power supply from the Arduino and now use track power.  I also used that power supply to power the sound module I acquired from Barnacle Bob.  This module produces some random outback dunny noises from behind the Fairy Hill Community Hall.

A view from on top of Helensvale Station.  The Gold Coast Tram is on the right.

I also wired up the double output ‘N Scale’ street light that I used as a platform ramp light at Kyogle.  That works pretty well.  I also added a bit of a flash to one of the lights because I could.

Modelling work has been adding as few doors and a few windows to the front of my Cassino Station Building.  I also added the roof beams to support the rear platform awning.  Next step is to add the awning supports for the main platform, along with the corbels and the roof beams for the main platform as well.  I should complete the windows by next weekend.

Friday I picked up Glen and we travelled over to PK’s place.  We checked out his wood working skills.  he even provided us with coffee and biscuits.

Saturday went to the Club and attended the AGM.  I think we had 49 or 50 in attendance and about 5 or 6 proxies.  While there Trevor gave me some 3D printed locomotive motors to decorate around the layout.  Two x 8 cylinder ones for my 1720’s and 2 x 16 cylinder ones.  They are brilliant.

I also picked up an overhead crane from PK.  So on Saturday night I cut up some styrene and made another 6 legs for the travelling rails, extending its travel length.  I still need to add some length to the overhead rails, but this kit will go into my Rocla Sleeper Siding to help move concrete sleepers, which then get loaded onto my sleeper train in my Ops session

Station Building Progress, SX Set Troubles and Track Work Changes

Monday this week was a work day, then I pulled the pin for the next few weeks – more Long Service Leave.  On Tuesday the boss and I went for a bus and train ride and walk around the city.  We checked out the new casino and the sky deck.  That was followed by lunch in town.  When I got home, I cut the large beams above the sliding windows (lintels) in the Station Masters office in the Cassino Station building.  These were then painted and let dry overnight.  I however fitted the sliding windows in the breezeway end of the Station Masters Office.

Tuesday was Tuesday Nighters so I took the model to show the rabble.  I also took possession of some N scale double LED lights that PK acquired for me.  One of these is going into the Kyogle platform lighting when I find time.  I have since drilled a hole in the baseboard from underneath and fed wires from the LED light down through the hole.  Now I have to remember what gets wired to where.

The end of Kyogle Platform.  The double headed light is in the middle of the ramp.

Wednesday morning I fitted the beams above the large sliding windows in the Cassino Station building In the afternoon, I cut out the 12 pane windows from the AMRI station kit and used 0.020” x 0.030” styrene strip to replace the windows making them 9 pane windows, as per the prototype.  These were painted and allowed to dry.

On Thursday I installed the 9 pane windows on the Cassino Station building.  That just leaves the windows above the doors and the many toilet windows to build and fit and then the back platform side of the Cassino Station building will be complete.  So I then made the window above the sliding door.  That was scratch built, painted and then installed.  On Friday I built the windows above the doors.  These were also painted and allowed to dry.  They were fitted on Saturday.  More work will occur next week.

The next Thursday task was testing my $1.50 motor.  I added a resistor in line to see if I could slow down the extremely large RPM from the motor at 3V.  A 33 Ohm resistor works, as does a small 10 Ohm resistor.  More testing to come.  So I might order some of the small 8mm x 4mm motors that I can see online.  My plan is to mount these on the bogies of the QR 2050 railmotor I am scratch building.  I don’t have to pull 40 coaches with this method of propulsion.  I only need to pull the railmotor.  I am thinking that this might help me qualify for the Master Builder of Motor Power AP.  I’ve had some input from Laurie McLean MMR, Gordy Robinson (President of the world) MMR and a few others.  More work will follow here.

Late in the morning on Thursday I received a package from IDR Models with my QR SX set inside.  In the afternoon I placed the wagons on the layout.  They look very good.  I think they look much better than the myriad of 3D printed ones at the Club.  Don’t get me wrong, the 3D ones are nice models and have a place in the hobby, but these models are much better.  I have not been able to compare them to scale.  They will occur in the future.  However, the IDR SX cars are very light.  I added some weight to mine.  I also noticed that some wheels were under-gauge for 12mm, when I compared them to some existing 12mm wheels I had laying around.  The IDR models SX set has trouble running through a 12mm cross over without derailing.  The couplers lack swing.  This was adjusted and thus their performance improved markedly.  Following more running, I’m not that impressed with their running ability.

I was thinking about it on Friday night.  I decided to head over to Modeller’s Warehouse and see if he had some 12mm wheels and some 3D printed SX bogies used under the 3D printed SX cars.  I acquired two sets for a trial.  When I got home I swapped the IDR wheels and bogies out and replaced them with the 3D printed ones.  There was some adjustment work to the 3D printed bogies, but that was 5 minutes work.  They now run immensely better.  Go Figure!  I think I will buy some more 3D printed bogies next Saturday and replace the whole set’s bogies with Wuiske wheels and 3D printed bogies.

The end two coaches have the replacement bogies and Wuiske wheels.  They run so much better.  The third coach has one of each.  Guess which end keeps derailing?

Most of the work on Friday was track work related in Clapham Yard.  While running the SX cars through one set of points, they kept derailing.  So I did a bit of work on the kitbashed HO points with a third rail for 12mm track through them.  So I relayed the third rail (on track 4 - the dual gauge track) and they now run much better.  However, while checking out my work, it dawned on me that where I leave my 4 car carrier wagons in Clapham Yard, is just not long enough to fit between a set of HO crossovers (tracks 3 to 4 – standard gauge) and a set of points at the end of the yard fan out.  So I decided to move the crossovers back to the other side of a 12mm set of points on this dual gauge track.  So now I have another 157mm to play with and the car carriers fit perfectly in this section.  I had no idea why I had not thought about this previously.  So I then re-attached all my power droppers to the rails in tracks 3 and 4.  You guessed it – a short!  So this was tracked down to the third rail in my recently adjusted HO points.  The third rail was too long.  That was adjusted by 1mm and mow it is all good.

Tracks are numbered from the top.  The standard gauge points from track 4 to 3 were moves from the right of the narrow gauge cross over from track 5 to 4.  My car carriers now fit in track 4.

More Cassino Station Building Progress

On Monday this week, I was trying to find some appropriate motors that I might use on my QR railmotor.  My plan is to use a 8mm long x 4mm round motor that I would direct drive onto the wheel rim.  I would mound the motor on the bogie and it would fit between the 12mm wheels.  However, that only motors that I can find are 20K rpm up to 47K rpm.  That is way to fast.  If they could do 2K rpm, or even up to 5K rpm that would power the railmotor at a convenient and more appropriate model speed.  But I cannot find any of these such motors.  I’m sure they exist.

Tuesday morning I decided to do some station building work before heading back to work.  I wanted to make my sliding windows in the Cassino station building.  I looked at a couple of ways to make them, but decided that I needed some scale channel and have each window run inside the channel.  However, I had no styrene of that type.  No matter, I headed down to Hobbyone.  Bugger!  They did not have that size styrene in stock.  However, they checked the supplier and they could have it here in a day or two.  I said Saturday was fine.  I had to go to work for the rest of the week. 

So after lunch I cleaned up the first 25 of the awning brackets that Greg 3D printed for me.  I then gave them a touch of Mission Brown paint from the spray can.  I also cleaned up the support blocks that support the awnings.  I also painted them up with a cream colour.  I also cleaned up a few door and these were also painted.  The doors and awning brackets were added to the building, and then the support blocks just under the awning brackets.  The model was starting to look good.

On Tuesday afternoon, I decided to make the sliding door in the Cassino Station Building and paint it.  So that was easily done.  But after that one was installed on the model, I realised that I needed two of them – one on each side of the building.  At this time, I am only adding detail to the back platform side of the station building.  The second sliding door got completed and installed on Saturday afternoon.

I got a text message on Saturday morning advising that the styrene was put aside for me at the shop.  Great service and also cheap.  So when I got home I glued two strips of channel together and fixed it to the top and bottom of the window openings all around the Station Masters office.  I then started making the individual window sliders.  Once put in and tested, I then added the internal panes.  The windows were then spray painted and allowed to dry.  So the first 6 were completed later on Saturday afternoon.  The two window openings for the breezeway end were cut up, thus 4 more windows were completed on Sunday morning.  These have been painted and are now ready to install into the station building.

The four windows for the end of the station masters office.

This is the back platform view of the Cassino Station building.  Two doors and one sliding door have been installed.  The windows above the doors still need to be built, painted and installed.

The rear of the Cassino Station Building at the Station masters office end.  These six windows can all slide in their own tracks.

So between all this activity, I decided that I needed to make another lot of pallets.  I made 27 on Friday evening after work.  I made another 27 on Saturday evening before dinner.  I also did another 26 this morning.  I think I will put together another 50 odd over next week and then paint these up, so I have about 125-130 ready for sale in various colours.

Three strings of pallets ready to be cut up.