Another batch of photographs. In 2011 I went on a study tour of Prague and Vienna (I did pay for the privilege!), looking at flood defences and hydropower schemes. I was delighted to have a hotel room in Prague overlooking one of the many tram lines. I didn’t have chance to ride the routes, but a walk around the city allowed me to pick up a few more shots.
And just to show that flooding is nothing new, Prague gets very wet from time to time!
Last night was a ‘blast from the past’ evening. Ex-member Andy Smith and his young lady paid us a visit. And a very old friend of Derek the At * turned up.
Duncan and John were ‘knitting’ – fitting overhead masts and dummy rubber overhead wires to an Alpenbahn module, in readiness for the exhibition. The overhead masts look very realistic, but it really is fiddly work getting it all together. I might have to do something similar when I start a traction layout and it almost makes crochet seem attractive.
Nothing too exciting on the circuit. Paul had his usual long Japanese goods trains. There was a nice Bullied Pacific and Pullman coaches. Neil was running an HST and also a long unit coal train headed by a blue Class 37. He then swapped this for a blue diesel and a blue and white inspection saloon. These looked very good travelling around the circuit a slow but measured pace.
Neil had an interesting question. Why is it that real bridges, fields and the like are so big, but when you model them to scale (if you have room) it doesn’t really look ‘right’? He had some videos of Eurostars crossing the Medway bridges and other high speed trains crossing French farmland. I’m not sure of the answer. It must be to do with viewpoint, perspective, and just how much the eye can take in at one go.
* For external consumption, we have two members called Derek. Both have surnames beginning with A and a beard. One is club treasurer and one is ex-club treasurer. If you’re not confused by now, you should be.
Let’s take a slight diversion away from layout design to consider what one might run on this N gauge traction layout. At moments like these I sometimes wish I had chosen HO to model in. There is a good range of traction models and kits in HO, and I would have an excuse to run my HO Con-Cor ‘Electroliner (when are you guys going to do a run of this superb model in ‘N’?) And of course if I were rich enough, O gauge beckons.
But back to N gauge. Firstly ready to run USA models. These are limited to the rather basic Bachmann Brill and PCC car….
And the very nice Peter Witt….
The Brill looks a lot better with the cut out passengers and original mechanism removed, and replaced by a Tomytec chassis. You can see the mechanism, but at least you can see through the coach from one side to another.
One must also mention the ‘shorty’ Bachmann coaches. These have a lot of potential to convert them into interurban cars….
If you are ‘freelancing’ to some extent, there are some very nice models coming out of Japan. These include cheap models by Tomytec and Bandi, and some very nice models by Modemo….
And expensive kits or models by small manufacturers such as World Craft and Masterpiece….
Some of these models have a real US look, especially if the pantographs were replaced by trolley poles. Unfortunately, like many US or UK companies, models are often on limited runs and you need to spot them and buy them as available.
A third source of models is 3D printing, usually on Shapeways. A number of manufacturers make 3D models, of some interesting prototypes. (See http://www.shapeways.com/shops/boxcarmodels, http://www.shapeways.com/shops/ihphobby and http://www.shapeways.com/shops/ghbinternational amongst others). 3D printed models need careful finishing, but the quality of models improves by the week….
Lastly, track. N gauge tram track is made by Kato and Tomix, and the really adventurous might try the Proto87 Street Track (http://www.proto87.com/easy-street-track-system.html) , that should be adaptable from HO to N.
So in summary, a certain amount of conversion and scratch building may be necessary to model an N gauge traction line. But that in itself is an attraction. This may also affect one’s choice of prototype – but that’s for another post.
The ESNG works to two N-gauge modular systems. With our show coming up, perhaps a quick reminder of the standards is in order. The first is N-mod. This is an adaptation of the USA N-Track system, the main difference being that there are 4 tracks and all tracks are at the front of the board.
The length of the module is defined as 4 foot, to keep a standard geometry and enable a continuous layout, but the width can vary, behind the four tracks, as desired. All track is PECO Code 80 (at least at the module ends.) The modules are joined by a short, nominally 3 inch, removable length of track to take up variations in length and width. And variations there are, perhaps due to unevenness in the hall floor, wood changing shape with time, and the general incompetence of the members.
The sketch shows these dimensions.
The idea of an N Club International module came from wanting a pan-European N gauge standard. The boards are double tracked (although a single track standard also exists). The standard board width is 400mm, with tracks at 120 and 150mm from one side. The boards can be any length, as the modular layouts set up are generally end-to-end, with loop boards at either end. Common lengths are 800 and 1200mm. Junctions can be used to set up a complex layout.
The track goes right to the end of each board, and is laid with a jig. The modules are aligned by dowels and bolted together. Theoretically, this method of using a precision jig guarantees a perfect alignment between adjacent modules. It usually works! Track is PECO Finescale Code 55 which has a more prototypical look thanks to its lower profile Code 55 rail.
The sketch shows the board end profile.
Two different standards, and two different concepts. N-mod does allow some crowd pleasing running at an exhibition. We keep enough N-mod modules to build a circuit in our meeting room, and allows members to run (and watch) plenty of trains on club nights. NCI perhaps allows more variation of track planning, as double track lines were (and are) more common than four-track sections.
A long day down in the UK West Country yesterday, looking at computer models of flooding in the Somerset Levels. So I’ll post some more of my old holiday snaps! I hope to post another traction design article in a day or two.
Most of these shots were taken retreating from a walking holiday in the West Highlands with some university friends. I say ‘retreat’ as we were forced to cut short our holiday after it rained for 24 hours solid (sounds familiar, doesn’t it – this is what usually happens in Scotland), and our tents were soaked through. Being a careful backpacker, I was the only one with a dry set of clothes in plastic bags…. So we took the train back to Edinburgh (via Glasgow) and spent longer than we expected at the Edinburgh Festival. The bus in the photo is, I think, parked to put the mail on the platform by collection by the soon to arrive train. The last photo is from an earlier walking holiday – an idyllic Plockton, on the west coast, in rather better weather in 1973.
I have been putting together the (hopefully) final plans for our 2014 show. It’s a more of a challenge this year, as we are changing venues, largely due to increased hall charges. We knew our old venue very well, and it was easy to plan a show and know what it would look like on the day.
The new venue has the benefits of plenty of on-site and free car parking, and being all on one level (no lift to go wrong during set-up). It’s a little further from the centre of Redhill, though, and we are going to have to do our own catering.
However, I think the day will be as good as ever. Layouts attending are:
We are especially pleased to have Garsdale Head on show, as the owner has recently moved ‘down south’ and is looking to get back on the exhibition circuit here.
Trade is represented by:
Other stands are:
Maybe see you there?
It seems there are three things not to talk about in polite company – politics, religion and climate change. I can’t be that polite, as only politics is off limits…. However, this article gives a good history of the Dawlish coastal main line, with historic pictures and some interesting weather statistics. The WUWT site is always worth a look – it is sceptical about climate change, but in a balanced way (until you read the comments, that is!)
Sorry, I’ll get back to N gauge railways soon….
The damage to Dawlish is a bit of a side show to the ongoing flooding of the Somerset Levels. I did learn last week that ‘Somerset’ is a derivation of ‘Summer Land’ – in days gone by people only lived there in the summer, as it flooded all winter. We seem to be going back in time.
However, this photo from todays Daily Telegraph might just be an inspiration for a watery module? It reminds me of the Florida Keys line, that was taken out by a hurricane a good many years ago.
Another slow start to tonight’s meeting and we thought we might not get any trains running. The Cha(I)rman was absent, claiming an early milk round the following morning, and Martin (snr) opted out of the drive from Leatherhead, claiming that you couldn’t see the pot-holes in the road for all the water.
However, we quickly got a small circuit up and running, and ended the evening with more members than usual. It was good to see Paula and family, and Duncan was present in body, if not spirit, after successive trips to Beijing and Helsinki. The Treasurer had to be convinced that he had been at the last meeting. He had no recollection of us all giving him money. Fortunately the accounts book showed he was present and that we had all paid up.
The usual selection of trains were present, including some long, long Japanese freight trains that stretch half way around the circuit. We also got some useful planning done for the exhibition.
The latest gales and high tides have wrecked the iconic ex-Great Western Railway line along Dawlish Warren and the seafront of Dawlish town. It’s a far cry from the usual picture of GWR Kings and Castles on a sunny summer’s day. The sea wall has been breached in places and the rails are hanging in mid-air. It’s going to take a lot of work to get this going again.
The following, very small, pictures come from the BBC website. I’ll try and update them when I can find something better.
Update – better photographs added from the BBC.
 | Allan Dawes on On my workbench – module… |
| “Stuttgart 202… on Stuttgart 2025 – 4… | |
 | Jonathan Caswell on Stuttgart 2025 – 4… |
 | Chuckster on Brockenhurst show 2025 |
 | snitchthebudgie on Potpourri #1130 |
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