irishthump

Hi Eamon,

The design depends on what the most common donor motive power will be based on.

 

hacked Hornby class 33 new version

pancake motor

athearn jobbie

tenshodo

etc....

It would be pretty hard to come up with a "one-size-fits-all" solution I would think.

I agree that the sound is not right for the A Class, but it is better than nothing for the time being. I certainly would not buy a decoder with that sound on it.

I am experimenting with copying each individual sound file and running it through a Graphic Equaliser to change the sound of it, then rebuilding the sound programme. Have had limited success so far, but it is a time consuming task, and not high on my list of priorities at the moment.

I look forward to hearing any results you come up with. And that's the beauty of having the Lokprogrammer; you can chop and change to your heart's content! And in the end the sound only really has to make YOU happy.

Drifting slightly off, but having watched many hours of DVDs on Irish railways to jog my memories of GM and MV loco sounds, I could not help but notice A class locos sounded rather tame and nondescript compared to the evocative and distinctive sound of the baby GMs notching up and down.

That's what I was thinking. The notching seemed much more gradual, maybe the throttle arrangement is different on the A class.

I checked up on those sound files, and although the sounds were reasonable, the sound programme was pants, with only 2 notches, and very little else. As I said earlier, file 74460 is much more comprehensive with 8 notches, even though the sound is not quite right, but I am working on that. As you say, the A class just don't sound like the other GMs.

I didn't realise they were so limited notch-wise, I only listened to the files using the virtual throttle on the Lokprogrammer software. But like you say the sounds aren't too bad.

I just think 74460 just sounds completely wrong for the A class.

Are you thinking of modifying the sound file?

Not sure yet IT. I am working my way through the ESU library looking for something that sounds remotely like an 001 class, and then add horns recorded at Downpatrick. Have you any suggestions?

I've spent some time looking too, to me the A class didn't really sound like the other EMD locos. There are 2 files that I could find that have Sulzer prime movers that I think are in the ballpark anyway. Try files no: 56451 and 54457.

Yes, the chassis is live, but as long as none of the electrics is making contact with it there is no problem.

Gotcha. What sound decoder are you planning on using?

One question; I assume since it's basically an Athearn design that the chassis is live?

Fantastic job!

I myself tried to fit Athearn CoCo bogies to an F7 chassis a while back, but just couldn't make it work. This is an excellent solution, I'd love to see a video of the completed project.

A little more progress.....

I've spent the last few days hand painting lengths of flex track and most of the points. I decided to hand paint the rails before laying the track as I didn't fancy spraying all the track with my airbrush in the confined space of the attic with no ventilation!

With the track plan pretty much finalised I went ahead and fixed down the trackbed. I used Woodlands Scenic foam trackbed partly because it seems very easy to work with and it also worked out cheaper than cork. I fixed it down with "No Nail" adhesive.

Here's what will eventually be the main terminus:

The two tracks on the left will be the terminus platforms and will be mostly covered by the station building. (I'm going to have to figure how to deal with that ugly wooden beam on the left! I'll have to either hide it or make a feature of it.....) The longest train that can be accommodated is 5 markIII's with a 201. That's shorter than I would like but I can live with it. The two tracks to the right are for freight and coach storage. I've placed a point to show where I'll be putting a loop which will allow an engine to run around it's train and will provide access to the freight/container yard.

Here's another pic looking towards the entrance to the station yard:

You can see how the track on the far right leads out of the station yard and around to the right which will allow access to the engine shed or to link with the main double track loop.

Here's the mail line and on the left is where the engine shed will be placed, pretty much where that Peco shed is standing. There's no underlay here, I plan to lay the engine shed tracks directly onto the baseboards to have a little height difference from the main.

Here's a shot of the removable section:

Hopefully I'll get some of the main line laid before the weekend.....

One thing i love about a garden layout is the lighting.

 

 

I think i will have to get me some weathering powders and sealer's and try weather the building a bit.

I don't think there's any need. "The Weather" will do all your weathering for you!

- and they do post to Ireland if you contact them.

That was a joke!

I would've had a punt on this, but the seller doesn't post to Ireland....

jeepers, those wagons must be doing a scale 100mph. I'm not sending me parcels with em.

Ha! Those wagons better have sprung buffers or they'll be nothing left of them after a while!

Seriously though, that's impressive. Something to slow the wagons down would make it perfect.

If the loco runs on DC then it can be converted. With a metal model it really depends on the way current is collected, I'm not familiar with SSM kits but some models with metal frames use it to conduct current to one side of the motor. If that's the case extra care has to be taken to isolate the motor from the frame or chassis. You also have to be careful that the decoder will not come into contact with any metal parts.

This guys has an interesting way to slow the cars.....

[video=youtube;-YY55xmNXfQ]

This is a good idea as i do plan to change all wheels on wagons to metal ones.

less manual work and more automation.. i really like this idea

 

this would work like a pneumatic retarder system.

Glad you like the idea, I actually think it would work well. Small neodymium magnets could be placed just inside the rails. It's the magnetic pull on the axles and not the wheels that has the most effect.

im perplexed in how you will handle uncoupling with Tension lock , as you cant get delayed uncoupling and then how will you break the vans. I suppose you could fashion a rail retarder rather like modern US practice, but in the UK hump yards , a lot was done by manual braking. It has been suggested in H0 that air jets could be used to retard the wagons,

You could try magnets. The wheels and axles on most British RTR stock are attracted to magnets. I've notice this myself when using Kadee uncoupling magnets, in some cases the wagon or van would stop dead right over the magnet! It would take a bit of experimentation with the size/power of the magnets and their positioning but it would be possible to get the required effect.

Great video, and lovely job on the plough vans.

Hi IT,

If you were to have trains running in opposite directions on the main circuits, the clockwise circuit would not be able to directly access the station terminus and vice versa for the anti-c to the station. I realize the plan may be to go from one to the other via the main circuits and then run the loco round if not top'n'tailed

Thanks for the comments, Divecontroller. Yes that's the idea, trains will run from either station, do a couple of laps of the main circuit then head into the other station.

In the case of the larger terminus after arrival a station pilot will shunt release the loco from the train and it can head to the loco shed for service/refuelling.

The smaller station has a runaround loop as you describe. The same with freight trains.

This sort of operation was something I couldn't do with my last layout and it was the first thing I wanted to put right!

Nice! Should have plenty of room to run some American freight

That's what the upper level will be for!

Thanks for the words of encouragement lads! Here's a rough trackplan (subject to change of course, but hopefully you'll get the idea.)

Huge potential there... looking forward to seeing the layout develop.

Thanks Garfield! Although it looks quite cramped from the photos it's possible to walk around most of the layout and there's headroom enough to stand while operating.

The track plan is all in my head at the moment but I'll try to sketch something out so that I can post it here.

Been working quietly on the new layout the last few weeks and finally have something to show for it!

Progress has been slow but the baseboards are finished and I'll be starting to lay the track hopefully this weekend.

I decided to make this layout at a more comfortable height to work on (the old layout was barely 3ft high and it was a nightmare to access wiring under the baseboards). These baseboards are about 4.5 feet high, roughly chest height. I'm also hoping to add another level above this in the future.

Here's a few pics...

This section is about 15ft long and I plan to put a fair sized passenger terminus and freight yard here.

Off to the right; there will be a double track loop about 8ft square. Possibly an engine shed and refuelling point along this side.

The opposite side to the planned terminus. This will be another station with a run around so I can turn trains and send them back onto the mainline.

And back around to where we started. This section will be removable as it's right over the attic door.

What about June, August, and October bank holiday weekends?

Bank holiday is a colloquialism, the proper term in Ireland is Public Holiday. They are all Public Holidays , as are Christmas Day, Stephen's Day, Patrick's day etc.

Yes, the banks are closed but it is not a public holiday.

Correct. It's not a public holiday, but it IS a bank holiday.

There are only two Bank Holidays in Ireland; Good Friday and December 27th.