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Rolling Stock Weights

Lately the oil train has become unreliable: in a sequence of maybe 20 runs around the railway (perhaps 300m travelled over a lot of points & bends) a tanker will derail. That then blocks the whole railway, because it happens underground.

The Virgin carriages have a weight of 27g each. The oil tankers are only 11g, so I decided to add some lead weights (aiming for 13g each tanker). The tanker body is clipped together - no glue. The end caps can be prised off using a scalpel; thereafter the body simply opens up.

Lead sheet is readily available from DIY suppliers (it is used for roofing) and two pieces approx 10x25mm each weighed 6.5g. For them into half circles, and glue them inside the ends of one half of the body (I used Uhu). The reassembly the body by clicking back together, and all is done!

 

 

GWR Class 800

Kato's new GWR class 800 looked nice. I know they don't run to Portsmouth, but add some batteries and maybe they'd get there.

The Kato supplied decoders, on the other hand, were nowhere as easy to fit as they should have been. The instructions are entirely in Japanese which doesn't help. The motor car decoder needs the body taking apart, then it installs in between two phosphor bronze springs. The two end car decoders should be installable without dismantling, but I could find a way to get it to work. And the pictures in the Japanese instructions didn't tell what orientation they should be.

So dismantle the cars, don't lose the many bits of plastic clip-on bodywork... and it does eventually work. I had to change the direction of one to get the lights correct - edit CV29 to a value of 7.

Subcategories

Wheelsets

This section has articles to do with wheelsets

Roster

The railway will use ready-to-run rolling stock, as available. There is a time warp somewhere in the vicinity: I have no qualms about whether a given livery or vintage of loco "should" be there.

The rolling stock so far has been acquired after justifying that I needed to test this, and measure that etc. there is a Kato Eurostar; a Tomix "Thomas the Tank Engine"; and various models from the Graham Farish and Dapol ranges.

Locomotives

This is a blow-by-blow description of each locomotive, where there is something interesting to say!

Couplings

This section has articles to do with couplings.

Carriages & wagons

Detail of specific wagons & carriages.

DCC Mobile Decoders

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