Great Chesterford Junction Part Two

Yes well there you are you see Jim..??
I guess if we were following prototype we would wince at tension locks as well, but we have become so used to them that we accept them.
I would use tension locks if they were consistent, but they are not, and these days they even suffer from droop in some of the NEM fittings.
Kadees work well but are not prototypical on British railways.
Because our railways are small models with unrealistic radii in the track, we have to compromise.
So that`s what I`m doing here, trying to find something that is not too radical or imposing in it`s look, but more importantly works as it`s supposed to.
The operation is important to me and that`s what I have been working towards for quite some time now.
The wires when blackened present quite a low profile, and in some cases nearly disappear.
The coupling is not prototypical but works reliably every time. Coupling wagons is a very positive action whether it be on the straight or on a curve.
Uncoupling is by hand of God and may be done one of two ways. You can literally separate the wagons by hand or you can use a custom shunter`s pole.
The HOG ( Hand of God ) method is actually prototypical if you think about it. Wagons with 3 links don`t couple or uncouple themselves in real life.
I have done some serious testing this afternoon whilst at the same time re-designing the shunter`s pole to deal with the extra magnetic force we now have.
What works well is a Credit Card....believe it or not.....so I`m developing a pole based on that...
You asked if I use jigs....well yes I do....even a simple jig is a time saver if you have repetitive tasks to complete and of course you get that consistency in your build.
The basis of my measurements starts with a 3mm diameter magnet.
I use a piece of 3mm x 10mm flat bar shaped and drilled at one end to take a horizontal pin to form the actual coupling.
The wire is wrapped over the top edge of the bar and then down around the pin on each side of the bar.
I have two pieces of 3mm thick flat steel bar that I use to create a flat spot in the middle of the magnets axle so that the magnets can be glued effectively.
I use Ultra Violet glue to glue the magnets.
A pair of wire bending pliers to form the wire connection to the buffer beam.
The connection is Super glued to the wagon
A piece of 3mm thick plastic bar with a magnet inserted at one end. This can be held in the vice and used to hold coupling magnets while they are glued.
One coupling can be made in about 5 minutes.....maybe less....haven`t actually timed it properly.
Wire is straightened by putting one end in the vice, the other end in the drill, pull wire firmly and turn on the drill for perfect straight wire.
This method was passed on to me by Keith M from this forum.
Of course I have an assortment of pliers and snips, files tools etc. collected over a lifetime......so I can work around most things.
Gormo

 

Part of the testing for my rotating couplings.



Gormo

 

G`day Folks,
I`ve been busy over the last couple of days, mainly testing my new version of magnetic couplings, but also doing some repairs as well.
A small section of track failed whilst I was trying to cut an insulated break, so I decided to replace it with a longer section rather than trying to replace a very short section



The chisel was handy for removing the old sleepers



A little bit of packing was required.



The track was fitted into place by the usual method of sliding the rail joiners all the way back and then forward.



And then sleepers, with chairs removed, were slid under the rail to fill the gaps.
It just requires ballast now.



Today I started working on my favorite shunter, a Hornby LMS Jinty.
The poor old shunter has been the test dummy for all my versions of couplings over a few years now, but it is a good runner and it was time to fit it with the latest version
The first problem that became rather obvious was that the buffer height is quite high on this model, high enough to ride over the buffers on most of my wagons.
The solution, which works, was to replace the original buffers with some larger ones.
These had to be made.
I used a small flat head nail which had a small brass sheet disc applied to it. The disks were made using a standard home paper hole punch.
The disks were centered on the nail heads and fixed with Ultra Violet glue from the back. The profile on the front of the buffer head was created with the Ultra Violet glue as well.
The buffer shafts were trimmed to length and the buffers were painted Flat Black and then fitted to the loco.
The larger diameter doesn`t really look out of place and they work as intended.



The new couplings were fitted and tested and a flat section of staple was glued just above the buffer beam.
When the coupling is lifted up, it is attracted to the staple.



With coupling secured in this position, wagons can be loose shunted



The other development is a shunter`s pole.
Made from a Bamboo skewer, a window leveling wedge and a piece of thin vinyl similar to a credit card.
The " V " in the vinyl self locates over the top of the couplings and separates them with a gentle tap downwards.
The thickness of the window wedge assists in keeping the magnets separated.



When the shunter`s pole is tapped downwards, the bottom edges come to rest on top of the rails.



So that`s where we are at the moment and I`m confident in moving forward with the couplings.
Gormo

 

Yes very true Gary,
There appears to be no standard set by the UK manufacturers, whereas the Yanks I believe have got all that sorted.?
You mention standard buffer sizes would be a big help, which is true, but only a help also if the buffers are set at the correct height.
That Jinty I have just converted has buffers sitting way above all my new rolling stock, however matches up with some of the older Hornby stock.
I have not actually measured the buffer heights yet to check them, but from memory I think It`s supposed to be 3 foot 6 from the top of the rail to the center of the buffer face........someone correct me if I`m wrong there..???
So that would equate to 14mm in 4mm scale.
The buffer faces can vary from 12 to 15 inches, so there is a bit of wiggle room there.
I think most UK models tend towards the smaller, size which would be 4mm in 4mm scale.....some may even be under scale.....not sure there have not checked.
At the end of the day, the modeller who models UK stock, and wishes to have a shunting layout, has some serious conversions to do whether it be changing couplings alone or indeed taking it further.
To me the only viable solution for these people is to change over to Kadees, as nothing else offers such a simple effective solution.
Gormo

 

Good one Ron....
Same applies to hand of God operations.
People want automatic coupling and uncoupling and frown upon those of us who choose to use a shunter`s pole because it does not look good....
I have yet to see a real life 3 link or screw coupling that can couple and uncouple itself without human intervention.
Hand of God is reliable.....it`s prototypical....requires no uncoupling ramps or magnets set into track....and you can uncouple wherever you choose.
I stand converted and rest my case your worship....
Gormo

 

Anyway fellas,
Back to the build......here`s a short video showing the latest shunter`s pole in action.
It`s rather large, and the anti hand of God brigade with be having chest pains when they see it, however it`s dimensions create a certain degree of leverage, which makes for a smooth separation of wagons, giving the operator some confidence in their ability to uncouple.


Gormo

 

Just a little distraction here.
I thought I would try filming with my phone camera once again, and in doing so, try and find a solution to the staggered effect I was getting with trains moving past the camera.
The solution as it turns out is that the software that runs my bog standard camera that comes with the phone is not really up to the job.
I have downloaded three other cameras from the Play Store and I`m getting much better results.
I have eliminated one and am currently assessing the two I have left to see which performs the best.
They both have the ability to lock the focus and exposure, which was not available on the default camera that came with the phone.
One of the cameras also has the ability to stabilize the recorded video which has mixed results......
You will notice in the opening sequence that the carriages become blurry as they arrive.......I have worked out how to fix that now but I left the sequence in because I like it.
A short video below.



Gormo