murrayec

Hi All I'm sure you will be glad to hear Gauge-N-Sean had a successful time in the shop, and is out on the rails running in the new linkage. All is going well for recovery and will soon be notched to full throttle.... Eoin

Hi All Here is the first Class 8100 DART Model with sound. It's a preliminary set-up as it is practically impossible to capture a clean running sound of the train, so I'm still looking for a motor sound that works. It's an ESU Loksound V3.5 chip which is a bit limited in the programming area compared to the current V4 chips, but hay it has a horn.... Eoin

Hi I don't like split chassis, they are not fun when worn a bit! Much prefer a nice brass chassis and the axle type gearbox as there is incredible slob in these split chassis gearboxes- once the gears are up and running they centralise and run OK, but starting off and slow running can be a problem. I find the Hornby chip to be no worse than any of the other cheep chips! It's mainly the running gear on this type of chassis that give the problems- sloppy gearbox, mad plastic axle sleeves that you cant stop the wobble- causing problems with the rods, and of course old bumpy wheels. We will have to see how it runs on the test track Eoin

It's alive! it's aalivee! Installed the chip tonight and after a lot of jiggery-poke it came alive, very messy running at first but some dismantling and changing wheel positions I got it running like a rusty old steam loco on one cylinder. After a drop of more oil, adjusting the quartering to the best spot, and when the motor warmed up it started to run pretty OK, it's probably fairly prototypical!! Its all a bit tight in the electronics cab and not quite going together! some more planning required.... Eoin

Excellent popeye It's looking exceptionally well, some beautiful neat work Eoin

Hi & thanks all for the comments Here are a few shots CM took on Friday after a few more trees were installed... CM & Eoin

Hi jhb Just picked up a copy of 'Rails Through North Kerry' today- excellent stuff, great photos, just breezed through it after dinner- looking forward to the read. My favourite is 'Rails to Achill' , Achill Station is a modellers dream and the book is very helpful in that matter... Eoin

Hi All Sean is in the shop for a lower drive rod linkage replacement, if the prelims went OK today the procedure should have happened by now and he should be on the way to the steaming shed! These linkages can be tricky, so some careful running in is required- so we will not see Gauge N at the Fair for possibly 2 months.... Speedy recovery Sean Eoin

Hi Slavek Yes the dimension is 1016mm(NMRA do it in inches hence the 16mm if I remember correctly)if you use the feet adjusters you will be in the range- say lowest 995mm, highest 1025mm. There is a pdf copy of the drawing for downloading here;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2465-Modular-OO-Layouts?p=52044&viewfull=1#post52044 Summer/Autumn is the one, if you progress this any further please show pictures and give the product names and reference codes, so this can be discussed Here is a link to a layout I'm landscaping at the moment- Summertime! Seapoint will be similar;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/4213-Greystones-Model-Railway-Layout?p=103131&viewfull=1#post103131 Eoin

Hi John The plan is a transition scenic area at module connections, within the individuals modules the scenic can be to their choice but it would be nice to keep the same vibe through the whole layout! The modules can be stand alone dioramas or integrated into a home layout and unbolted out for the modular thing- this was discussed back in the thread.... Good luck at the show up North, we'll be in Cork at a show that weekend Eoin

Hi The number plate erecting ceremony was this evening, all went well and now its numbered... I had the same Humbrol Clear Matt problem on the plates- dried out white! It's still a bit dull so I'm tempted to use a Gloss to make it clear again... Eoin

Hi Slavek If you mean 'where is it stored' it's at baseboard Dave's workshop in Edenderry, see his Facebook link above- setup and awaiting some attention. If you mean 'where is it based on' Seapoint is adjacent Dun Laoghaire a suburb of Dublin. When my workload frees up I will be going down there to add some stuff I've been working on for it, if you are able to travel there at that time we would be happy to meet... I'll let you know when I'm going. Eoin

Hi Paul I believe it doesn't really matter the size of the resistor used with a DCC chip, the chip is throwing out 12volt and the resistor is limiting it to less! Actually I'm going to install another on the power out of the chip as the lights are a bit to bright! Eoin

Hi Slavek Don't mind Kinvara-Train! he's from the West:) If you go back in this thread to earlier posts you will find that this system is designed with NMRA & Freemo spec in mind, we found the NMRA spec to be sound but Freemo seems to change with each different group setting up! You will also notice that some of the items you have brought up are discussed back there also.... The drawing I prepared is for discussion and demonstration of the idea, Seapoint Modular Layout is a real live demo of the system and viewing it one can see how it can be adapted to fit other systems that are NMRA compatible- also it's not fixed, it's a design process open to all who wants to contribute Eoin

Hi Slavek Single track boards can be incorporated, they need a transition board at each end to come back to 2 track and agreement as to which track of the two to connect to.... Eoin

Hi Colin R See here;- http://irishrailwaymodeller.com/showthread.php/2465-Modular-OO-Layouts?p=37185&viewfull=1#post37185 Eoin

Hi Slavek Our idea for this system is your boards can be any size within reason, all you have to comply with is the connection detail, two track through, format and landscaping at connection (when agreed). We planned that this system can connect to other modular systems- with agreement connection plates can be made to integrate the two systems.... Eoin

Thanks Guys Yes Noel it is as you say, fiddly stuff to work with, you have to make sure you scrape off the resin as I had two leads not working after soldering it up- had to undo, scrape again, and re-solder!! Eoin

Hi jhb Yes I agree, I think your referring to the Gauge N Modular outandabout? Our plan with the large boards was that people would develop 3 or more boards like Seapoint and then a large layout would come together fairly quickly- somewhere back in this thread we do mention setting a landscape standard to try and keep continuity between the different layouts- these are things we hoped to develop up as more people got involved.... Eoin

Thanks popeye No its Noch SteinKohle! I thought is was real but when I opened the packet it turned out to be some kind of glass stuff, it still looks OK, some of it is a bit light in colour but I like the size and it looks good- though the glue is not dry Yet! Eoin

Hi The landscapers were in on Friday morning to do a bit of tree planting, drink coffee, and eat cake... Everything going fine but we do need a bit of undergrowth between those trees at the bridge to hide the backscene. Then the DART came up from Wicklow and the lads scarpered for lunch..... Oh yes! the specialist was in to do the under-board curtain which is under fabrication and should be erected very soon Eoin & CM

Hi A bit of light work this evening Directional lights were installed, they are made from small bits of 2mm sq and round styrene with a 1.5mm brass tube to make the lens housing, with transparent styrene disk over the miniature LEDs. After painting the bodies and sticking on the brass n cover I sealed the brass with Humbrol Clear Matt and the whole thing turned white when dry- bloody nightmare! Lots of washing with water and it cleaned up- don't use that stuff! A little board was made for the LED resistors and the DCC control wires- another nightmare soldering those little wires. But pretty cool when I plugged in the power to give them a test. Then loaded it up with a bit of coal...... Eoin

Hi Slavek Welcome to the forum, and great to see someone post here in ages This modular system started off with great enthusiasm but with time the steam ran out, and at the moment not much is happening. We are still working on our Seapoint Modular layout, but workload has slowed us up, another chap is working on a 1200mm board- but that's how thing stand at the moment. Interest is low and I hope in the future with more free time we can finish Seapoint and get it out to promote the idea again.... The track we have used is ready built, but that doesn't mean you cant use self build, it just has to connect and be compatible with ready built. Also keep in mind this system is not fully Fremo compatible and not finally designed, as we tried to keep things relatively simple and not have multi type boards, a persons module can do anything within that module, it just has to be compatible to join the system and have the two track through.... Do keep watching here, hopefully more will show interest when we get Seapoint finished Eoin