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PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 6:58 pm 
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Location: Lancashire
Boat Name(s): The FGO Model Fleet
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Graham and Jo wrote:
Lancastrian wrote:
One good thing of being battery operated, no need to worry about the track shorting out at the points. Looking good.


You also don't need to worry about electrical connectivity. The trains go through the points that are set against them quite well but it is a bit touch and go for the front bogie!

Cheers Graham
Out of curiosity what are the locos that you using, and are they rechargeable.

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:15 pm 
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Location: Alton
Boat Name(s): Dotterel
Boat Location: Calcutt
Waterway Base: Grand Union
Lancastrian wrote:
Out of curiosity what are the locos that you using, and are they rechargeable.


The two battery engines are both Bachmann big haulers, the 4-6-0 is pretty much as original but I have fitted two large rechargable battery packs in the tender. There is a simple control system with an on/off switch, a direction switch and a potentiometer to control speed via a power transistor.

The porter does not come with a tender but I had a spare from a big hauler that died so fitted the same system in that and semi permanently attach it to the engine.

I will upload a picture of one of the tenders and a wiring diagram.

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:55 pm 
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The control system.

Wiring diagram - essentially a potentiometer driving a power transistor. There is also a light on the tender and one in the engine so one of the switches controls which light is on and the other which direction to go.

Image

Two switches and potentiometer on the tender.

Image

The front connectors. The engine came with two connectors between the loco and tender. One for the tender light and the other for the chuff chuff sound system. The sound system had to go to make room for the batteries. So one wire now drives the engine light and the other provides power to the motor. The other two connectors are to charge the two 8 volt battery packs. The packs are wired in series to give a potential 16volts.

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 14, 2020 9:59 pm 
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Oh right, I thought that you had a Porter. So they are normal Bachmann garden locos adapted by you to work off battery rather than mains.

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PostPosted: Tue Apr 21, 2020 1:10 pm 
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Work continues, the main circuit has been extended pretty much as far as it can go without my handy man building a wall - that will need to wait until post lock down.

The branch up to the reverse loop is now underway it climbs at 1 in 37.5 pretty much the same as the Lickey Incline (1 in 37.7). The bigger trains may need double heading owing to the tight curves on a gradient! In this area of the garden I have to dig holes for the piles rather than hammer them in as the chalk is very close to the surface. The soil in our garden varies from about 6 inches to really deep (in other words I have never found the chalk in those areas).

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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2020 3:41 pm 
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I have hit a snag, the big hauler wheelbase is too long to go through an LGB first radius reverse curve which includes a point. There are 3 of these is the design, two I can rebuild but one is impossible unless I shorten the loop and replace the point with a second radius one. This would make the passing loop a bit small but I will think about it.

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PostPosted: Thu May 07, 2020 3:57 pm 
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Graham and Jo wrote:
I have hit a snag, the big hauler wheelbase is too long to go through an LGB first radius reverse curve which includes a point. There are 3 of these is the design, two I can rebuild but one is impossible unless I shorten the loop and replace the point with a second radius one. This would make the passing loop a bit small but I will think about it.
Cheers Graham
Thinking caps on, Graham, I am sure that you will come up with something.

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PostPosted: Sun May 10, 2020 3:26 pm 
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I am rebuilding the two junctions that had the double curve. I also found that one was not very level so have had to replace the ground supports. My early technique of pile driving was quick but not accurate. I now assemble the supports place them in a hole level everything and pack the soil down around them. Takes a while but the result is much better.

I have also lowered the ground level here to aid future maintenance.

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PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2020 6:44 pm 
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Well we all make mistakes!!

I finished rebuilding the section that had the reverse curve before the point. I have made a much better job of it and the track layout is neater. It is also perfectly level.

Test run with the big hauler - it fell off as before. After a lot of trying things including tightening the check rail I discovered that the middle wheel set was lose and dropping below rail height and chucking the engine off on the check rail. I tightened up two screws in the chassis and everything is now fine. It even goes through the reverse curve entering the loop!

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PostPosted: Thu May 14, 2020 7:15 pm 
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Great, this issue is now sorted, on to the next. :D

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PostPosted: Sat May 16, 2020 4:51 pm 
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Lancastrian wrote:
Great, this issue is now sorted, on to the next. :D


The next issue is that the Roundhouse steam locomotive Mille will not go through the LGB points. The check rails almost seem to be there for show, the course wheels on the bachmann stock go thorough them without using the check rails, they seem to juts hit teh frog in teh right place and hence go through.

The Roundhouse wheels are finer scale and ride straight up over the frog. My previous garden railway used tenmile track which had adjustable check rails.

It seems I am not the only person with this problems and I have copied a solution posted on a railway group. I have added a brass shim which wraps round the end of the check rails and is padded out with plastic-card to a suitable thickness to make the check rails functional

Image.

It works and the engine has been happily running round the circuit.

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PostPosted: Sat May 16, 2020 5:01 pm 
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These little issues are what makes it more interesting. Just out of curiosity (or being plain nosey :D ) what livery is Millie in.

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PostPosted: Sat May 16, 2020 6:39 pm 
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Lancastrian wrote:
These little issues are what makes it more interesting. Just out of curiosity (or being plain nosey :D ) what livery is Millie in.


She is maroon.

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PostPosted: Sat May 16, 2020 6:55 pm 
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I approve, Roundhouse locos are little engineering marvels.

I remember in the good old days when I got my first one. We actually went to the works to collect it. It was quite a journey we were out all day, Chris drove. They were really friendly and showed us around the works. They also gave us some freebies.

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PostPosted: Wed May 27, 2020 5:27 pm 
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Work is progressing well. I am building the high level reverse loop next and will joining the existing section of branch line after that. This is to makes the task of aligning the levels a bit easier as they will meet up on a decent length of straight so a few mm out in height will be no problem.

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