Progress Report 66

As you will have noticed, it has been over six months since I posted my previous Progress Report (see Progress Report 65). I usually aim to produce them within two months of each other, but the online business which I set up at the start of 2016 (RC Trains), proved to be considerably more popular than I envisaged. Furthermore, members of my family have been suffering from a series of health issues and as a consequence, I have not had a great deal of spare time to devote to working on my railway and keeping up my blog as I had previously.

However, I have been able to take time out from my commitments to work on various projects:

Rolling Stock

I have been tempted to acquire or construct new items of goods or passenger rolling stock, but the storage roads in the garage (see How I constructed storage sidings) ........

...... are now full to capacity and so it is more likely that, in the future, I will start super-detailing wagons and coaches and maybe replace some items with better alternatives.

As my locos are stored in the house, I have been able to add a couple more locos and, as part of my RC Trains activities, I have converted a range of locos to battery power for various customers.

 Regner Chaloner

Probably the most significant development is the acquisition of my first live steam locomotive. As slow-running and controllability are important considerations for my approach to operation, I decided a geared loco would be more appropriate. I was fortunate that a fellow modeller on one of the forums which I frequent offered me a Regner vertical boilered 'Chaloner' loco at a reasonable price.

She has so far had two outings on my railway and I am slowly getting to grips with the demands of a loco which requires fuel and water at regular intervals. My next plan is to install radio control so that she can be better integrated into my usual operating sessions. I appreciate that she is substantially over-scale (being nearer to 7/8ths scale), but have never been a rivet-counter often exercise the gentle art of compromise.

 Angliscisation of Stainz 

This project has been ongoing since the Summer. Although I could quite legitimately justified the running of a loco with German origins on my 1930s fictional rural narrow gauge railway (see A History of the Railway and its Locality), I decided to indulge in a bit of kit-bashing to turn her into something more Anglicised (see How I Anglicised my LGB Stainz loco).

LGB Stainz conversion - work in progress

I have described previously how I converted her to battery power using a trail car (see How I converted an LGB Stainz loco to battery power with a trail car and How I converted an LGB Stainz loco to battery power without a trail car). In addition to changing her appearance, I replaced the large head and tail lights with more appropriate loco lamps (see How I made some loco lamps) and stripped out the circuit board to use the directional lighting outputs from the Deltang/RC Trains  Rx65b receiver instead. I also replaced the simulated sandpaper-rasping default soundcard with a more sophisticated Dallee soundcard (see How I interfaced a Dallee soundcard with a Deltang / RC Trains Rx65b receiver/controller).

ToyTrain Diesel

Quite a few of my locos were constructed using LGB ToyTrain 0-4-0 motor blocks (eg see How I constructed a Hunslet loco from a GRS kit). I like to have at least one motor block 'in stock' as a spare or in case I have an urge to construct another locomotive. To this end, I bought a brand new LGB ToyTrain diesel loco for a reasonable price on eBay.

I am considering using this as the basis for another diesel outline loco - watch this space!

Soundcards

I must confess to being fascinated by soundcards and whenever one comes up on eBay I tend to place a tentative bid and then forget about it. In this way, I have recently acquired three soundcards - a couple of older versions of Dallee soundcards (one diesel and one steam) and a Phoenix BigSound 2k2 soundcard.

I am also working with Alan Bond on developing a small soundcard for diesel locos, though this project has been on the back-burner since the summer. Maybe, now I have a little more free time, I can resurrect it.

 Battery conversions

As indicated above, through my work with RC Trains, I was commissioned to convert customers' locos to battery power and/or radio control. For example:

Piko loco
I converted a G Scale Piko DB BR80 loco so it could run either on battery power and radio control or from conventional DC track power - see How I converted a Piko DB BR80 loco to battery power.

I tried to make this loco uncomplicated and self-contained by using three 18650 li-ion batteries and an iMax B3 charger. However, one of the greatest problems was finding a suitable panel mounted four-way socket to link the charger to the loco.

I used a 3.5mm four-pole jack socket and plug but was not entirely happy about it as, if it is not inserted fully, it could cause problems with the charger connections. It was therefore never intended to be more than a one-off experiment.

PLine diesel loco
The greatest problem with this loco was finding space for the batteries. Some 'flat' li-ion phone batteries were a perfect fit but proved reluctant to have leads soldered to their contacts and so two14650 li-ion batteries were squeezed in under the bonnet together with a Deltang/RC Trains Rx65b receiver/controller.

She responded well to the receiver and seemed quite happy trundling around my SM32 copper mine tramway see - How I converted a manually controlled PLine Lister to radio control)

Dapol 0 Gauge Terrier Tank
This was a complete departure from my usual loco conversions and proved to be quite a challenge, as space was very limited inside the body. I did, however, manage to squeeze four 10440 (AAA sized) li-ion batteries into the side tanks (wired as two parallel pairs - 2S2P) and a Deltang Rx60b receiver/controller into the smokebox.

With her flywheel and superior motor and gearbox, she proved to be a very smooth runner - quite a tempting proposition if ever I decide to venture into 0 gauge ...... (get thee behind me Satan!).

Permanent Way 

The layout of my railway is now quite firmly fixed and so developments with permanent way tend these days to be more associated with maintenance than track laying. However, there is always room for improvement and so there have been a few developments.

Peckforton re-alignment

After widening Peckforton Station and laying a new siding (see How I enlarged Peckforton Station), I decided it was time I sorted out a long-standing problem with the main tracks passing through the station. Since creating the station (see How I added a new station at Peckforton), the concrete blocks on which the track was laid, have settled - causing an unwelcome dip. This has meant that pulling in and out the station is a bit of a challenge, particularly when using inertia control on the RC Trains/ Deltang transmitters and even more so with visiting live steam locos. Rather than lifting all the track and re-positioning the blocks, I opted for a less intrusive approach which I've used before - I removed the screws holding the track and replaced them with longer ones. The track was then temporarily raised on various pieces of slate, tile and stones ........

.......and the space beneath the track filled with concrete.

The dip has now been removed and it is a lot easier to control the stopping and starting of trains. Though the platform now also needs to be raised to allow the poor passengers to reach the steps up into the coaches.

Level crossing

Having acquired a level crossing kit from North Pilton Works, I installed one of the crossings on the approach to Peckforton Station.

As with all railways built under the Light Railways Act of 1896, the Peckforton Light Railway was constructed in the cheapest way possible. Instead of expensive over- and under-bridges, most of the road crossings would have been on the level. As a consequence, I have to find space for three more level crossings. Each North Pilton kit provides me with sufficient parts for two single track level crossings and so is proving to be a cost effective approach to solving this problem. All I need to do now, is find suitable locations for the remaining crossings. (see How I installed a level crossing)

Lineside

 Picket fencing

In addition to the level crossing kit, I also invested in some picket fencing from the same supplier. Having tried (and failed) to make realistic picket fencing myself, I decided this laser-cut fencing was a cost effective solution. The kits come with a variety of different fittings, large gates. small gates, corner posts etc. and so I opted for a couple of kits with gates and an additional fencing pack. So far I have installed fencing around the forecourt of Beeston Market station (see How I installed some picket fencing ).......

 People

Having set my fictional railway in a real life setting (rural Cheshire) and a specific time period (the early 1930s, I realised that I could actually give the passengers and railway staff real identities, based on the names and occupations of local inhabitants drawn from census returns. Unfortunately, as census data is only released on the 100th anniversary of a particular census, I shall have to wait another fourteen years until the 1931 census records are made available and so I have had to use some artistic/modellers'/historical/genealogical licence to use the returns from 1911 to give identities to the figures which populate the platforms, station yards and carriages (see How I created identities for my populace). For example, this chap is John Boote, the foreman of the sandstone quarry in Bickerton.

..... and this young lady ....

.... is Ann Kirby, the cook at Bulkeley Hall.

In addition, I have also acquired a clutch of new characters for my railway.

These will eventually be assigned names and personalities as they take up their places on the railway. My next aim is to search local newspaper archives to identify specific events which occurred at the time and then create life stories for some of  the characters. Who says this hobby is uninteresting?

Operations

Operating sessions

I have managed a few operating sessions since the last Progress Report, but they have been few and far between. Mostly, operations have been restricted to testing converted locos or running a few unscheduled trains when visitors have arrived (see below). I did squeeze in a couple of timetable-led sessions during August and October, however - here are a few photos from one of them them.

Diesel loco No.8, Wynford on the first Down ore train of the day

Manning Wardle 0-6-0T No.6 Harthill eases out of Beeston Market with the Down afternoon mixed

No. 6 Harthill approaching Beeston Castle station with the Down mixed

The Down afternoon mixed pauses at Bulkeley station to allow an Up ore train to pass, hauled by diesel mechanical Fowler loco No. 7 Tollemache

Peckett 0-4-0 loco No.1 Peckforton taking the Up pick-up goods out of Bulkeley station across the swing bridge

No.8 Wynford on an Up 'special' (taking stock back to the storage sidings)

Visitors and visitations

During July, I paid a visit to Peter Butler in South Wales to see his magnificent Brockhampton and Umbridge Railway, and more particularly his fine collection of scratchbuilt Far Twittering and Oystercreek Railway models in inspired by Rowland Emett.

Peter and his friend, Mike, preparing one of the Emett trains at Brockhampton Station

0-2-0 loco Hero

2-2-2 loco, Neptune

0-4-0 Steam Railmotor

0-4-0 loco No.5, Nellie, hauling the milk train

During August, Zach Bond made what is becoming an annual visit, this time bringing his trusty Accucraft Excelsior (River Butley).

..... together with his 'momentum van'.

More recently, Phil Partridge's freelance battery powered diesel loco with a small collection of mineral wagons paid the line a visit.

It's always pleasant to welcome visitors and also to gain inspiration by visiting other people's railways.

Developments

 

Canal basin extension

I have been steadily accumulating lengths of track and pointwork in preparation for constructing an extended siding from Beeston Market station to reach the canal basin where, it is envisaged, there will be a run-round loop and a siding for transhipment of goods between canal boats and the railway.

RC Trains

After much deliberation, at the beginning of this month, I decided to hand over my online business supplying radio control equipment for trains to a fellow modeller and electronics enthusiast, Phil Partridge. With members of my family undergoing various medical procedures, I decided I could no longer care for them and keep the business going. I am confident that Phil will continue to develop the business and I can refocus my attention on my own railway and this blog (oh, and my family, of course!).

How I converted a Piko DB BR80 Tank Locomotive to battery power

I was asked by a couple of traders if it would be possible to convert a Piko DB BR80 Tank Locomotive (37202) to battery power and so I was loaned one on which to experiment. I hasten to add that I used lithium-ion batteries for this conversion, if I was going to do this commercially, I would use NiMh batteries, as these are less volatile and easier to recharge by those unfamiliar with battery technology.

After examining the loco and its exploded diagram closely, I realised that it was very cunningly contructed to ensure that very few of the screws holding the loco together were visible. The first job was to remove the four screws holding the side tanks on to the running plate.

 This allowed the side tank mouldings to be removed. There is a lug on the rear of the mouldings wwhich slots into the front of the cab. This just pulls out.

 With the tanks removed, the red plastic underframe mouldings could be removed. These simply slot into the running plate and into the rear underside of the cab.

Once the lug on the moulding was pulled out from the running plate, the moulding was then moved forward to slide out the lug from the cab underside.

The six screws holding the cab to the footplate were now visible. These were unscrewed .....

...... to allow the cab to be removed.

The two seats for the driver were then removed. Normally these slot on to pegs on the floor of the cab, but on this loco, the driver's seat was also glued down and so the peg had to be removed as well.

With the cab removed, the two screws holding the firebox to the cab floor were now exposed. These were unscrewed.

It took me a while to figure out how the front of the boiler was fixed in place. To access the single screw holding it, the buffer beam was removed by unscrewing the two small screws which secure it.

As you can see from the photo, the buffer beam sits on two lugs and so, once the screws were removed, the buffer beam needed to be prised upwards (with the loco inverted) away from the lugs. The screw holding the boiler in place now became visible.

This screw was removed .......

.... and then the boiler was lifted up at the rear, and slid backwards slightly to free the lug from the front fixing point.

With the boiler removed the wiring now became accessible. Normally, when I convert locos to battery power, I remove the wheel pickups and skates, but on this loco I decided to leave them in place - and add a switch to enable the loco to be run either from track power or from battery. If you were intending to run the loco solely on battery power, I would suggest you remove the skates and pickups at this point as they do add unwanted (and unneeded) friction.

The leads from the track and to the motor were unplugged .......

and the link between the two plugs was severed.

To follow my normal conventions for wiring, I soldered white wires to the motor leads .......

.....  then shrouded these in heatshrink sleeving for insulation.

Brown wires were soldered to the plugs for the track pickups .......

....... and similarly insulated with heatshrink.

The plugs were then re-inserted into their sockets - brown (track) leads into the outer sockets and white (motor) leads into the two inner sockets.

 Two 3mm diameter holes were then drilled into the stepped rear section of the cab floor .......

.... and the four new wires fed through.

Now the interesting bit could begin. Sorting out the batteries and the control system. After carefully examining the cab and trying various options, I decided that the easiest way to instal the additional  electrics was to put the switches and charge socket into the coal bunker so they could be accessed by removing the coal moulding. Rather than fixing them in permanently, I felt it would be better if the whole assembly could be removable. To this end I constructed a box from 2mm thick black plasticard which would fit snuggly inside the cab without the need for being glued in.

Before gluing the box together, an overlay was printed out on to self adhesive vinyl showing the positions of the switches and socket. This was attached to the 35mm x 95mm panel and holes of the relevant diameter were drilled (6.5mm for the switches, 8mm for the socket and 6mm for the LED).

A DPDT switch was mounted into the lower left hole (as the on/off/charge switch), a 3PDT switch was mounted into the right hand hole, a 2.1mm DC socket mounted into the middle hole and bezel-mounted LED fitted into the upper left hand hole:

 These were then soldered-up .........

 ................ as per this diagram.

 The LED was wired up to pad 4 of an RCT/Deltang Rx65b receiver/controller. The pad was then reprogrammed to provide the LED2 function (which mirrors the onboard LED flashes).

 A 3S li-ion battery protection board was purchased (via eBay) .......

 ... and wired-up before being connected to three 18650 tagged li-ion batteries.

 The batteries, together with the battery protection board, were then loosely taped together.

 The plasticard box was then glued together with solvent and positioned in place on the footplate.

The driver was then stuck in place (using a double sided sticky pad) on top of the plasticard box.

After testing, the loco was then reconstructed. The boiler was attached first ......

 Followed by the buffer beam, .......

............. cab and side tanks.

The controls and charge socket are conveniently accessible though the coal bunker by removal of the coal moulding.

Following testing, I decided to add a balance charge socket to the battery protection board, leading to a trailing JST four pin socket which is accessible in the cab. Not very elegant, but I had been unable to track down a panel-mounted 4 pin socket - besides which there was little space left on the board inside the bunker.

I have not added this loco to my fleet - it's not an appropriate prototype for my UK based three foot narrow gauge railway. It has now been returned to one of the traders as a demo to show what is possible with a little imagination and a modicum of ingenuity.