Laying HO track - the sequence

Have just spent an hour dipping into youTube videos about ballasting and weathering track. As usual the chap at Everard Junction has produced the most competent tutorials.

But my main purpose in doing this was to establish the sequence of doing things:

First: pin down the track in its final position.

Second: ballast the track.

Third: weather the track.

OR

First: pin down the track in its final position.

Second: weather the track.

Third: ballast the track.

Not sure about what's second or third but pinning down the track seems to be the first thing to be done.

I'll have to purchase a little handheld micro drill and bit for making the necessary holes in the sleepers for the pins. Another expense.

************************************************************************************
WHAT'S THE WORLD COMING TO?

OR

IS CLASSICAL MUSIC DYING?

Very poor attendance last night in Perth to see one of Britain's most impressive pianists, Paul Lewis. (Actually, the same venue was only part-filled the last time he played but that was for an afternoon performance and I thought that that timing might have explained the attendance.)

Average age of audience? probably, 65 years old. Hardly anyone there under 40 years old. Where is the audience for the future going to come from?

I thought Lewis himself looked depressed throughout as if reacting to the poor attendance. No encore given.

He can only be in his late thirties.

Heurtoir echelle HO

I think that title means "HO scale buffers".

Thinking ahead, I thought I'd better order some French-style buffers to instal on my test layout. Since I envisage this test layout as being in a country setting as opposed to the cityscape of the finished layout, I ordered buffers of a primitive construction viz with a plain, horizontal wooden beam as opposed to the hydraulic stoppers that one would see in a mainline station.

I've gone for the ROCO version and had to order them from a French supplier.

Both styles of buffers.

*************************************************************************************
No Ceramics class tonight - off to see Paul Lewis playing an all-Schubert programme in Perth.

German Dances D783
Allegretto in C minor D915 (1823)
Sonata for Piano no.14 in A minor D784 (1823)
Sonata for Piano no.16 in A minor D845 (1825)

Have seen Paul Lewis twice before - I like his on-stage demeanour.

Paul Lewis tells a  story on his website about the famous volcanic ash clouds from Iceland that brought the world's airlines to their knees a few years ago. At the time, he was stuck in Bologna wanting to get to the USA but flights were in chaos. He had the idea that there might be a flight to Iceland itself  since the ash was belching forth at an angle away from the airport in Reykjavik. There was such a flight and he got to the USA on time for his concert.

Choc blocks vs Snap lock connectors

Relocated the wiring beneath the test board today and soldered the connecting wires to the points motor - which formerly had been tied to the terminals of the motor.

Underneath the test board.

Underneath the test board.



You can see that I have used choc blocks to connect wires. I think I will stick with this method rather than use snap lock connectors; and for the following reasons.

a)  they always work and are easy to use.

b) if you change your mind about which wires should go where, you simply unscrew choc blocs and re-connect accordingly. Snap lock connectors cannot be undone because their blade cuts into the wires AND they completely encircle the wire so to remove one you have to slide it along to the end of the cable. But if that cable is joined up to anything else eg a points motor or another cable then that has all to be undone.

c) despite what certain people say, I still find snap lock connectors  unreliable. The blade within them either cuts through the wire entirely or doesn't penetrate its plastic coating sufficiently to make the electrical connection.

And the nice tidy top of the board now looks like this:

***************************************************************************************

Schuberts's Moments Musicaux

I cannot imagine anything more beautiful than Schubert's set of 6 Moments Musicaux. Have been listening to Radu Lupu gently pawing them out of the keyboard.

The second of the set is particularly heart-breaking.

***********************************************************************************

The Scottish Book of Common Prayer (1929)

Also known as the Red Book.

I opened it at random yesterday and found these words: "Regard not our sins, but the faith of thy Church ...................."

It put me in mind of Purcell's: "Remember not, Lord, our offences."

Henry Purcell (1659–1695)
Remember not, Lord, our offences,
nor the offences of our forefathers;
neither take thou vengeance of our sins:
spare us, good Lord, spare thy people,
whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood,
and be not angry with us for ever.
Spare us, good Lord.

Here is a clip of a choir singing the piece  in Leeds Parish Church.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCksOMAgEW8&feature=related 



Next steps

Now that I have this little DCC test layout, I can proceed to practise some of the skills and procedures that will be required for the final layout.

I tried to superimpose the list of these skills on the sketch of the test layout - but the text is too small to read; so, I'll type the list here as well.

1. Hide the wires under the board.

2. Solder the connecting wires to the points motor - at present they're simply tied.

3. Pin down the track after first drilling micro holes through the plastic sleepers. Note: will have to purchase suitable drill and drill bit.

4. Weather the track by painting the rails and sleepers in a dirty rust colour.

5. Lay the ballast along the track.

6. Clean the top surface of the rails for aesthetic and conductivity reasons.

7. Instal 3 sets of buffers at each of the ends of the lines. Have to purchase them first.

8. Create background scenery - possible out of tapestry.

9. Re-attach body to Jouef loco after first servicing its motor and running gear ie oiling it and running it in on running cradle.

***********************************************************************************
Aksel Schiøtz

I was looking on the internet for background information about my new favourite tenor, Aksel   Schiotz. Came across this. God knows what surgical butchery was the practice in the late 1940s!

Born: September 1, 1906 - Roskilde (near Copenhagen), Denmark Died: April 19, 1975 - Copenhagen, Denmark

In 1946 Aksel Schiøtz survived a tumour of the acoustic nerve which had to be operated, but it left the right hand side of his face partly paralysed. He succeeded by sheer will-power to sing in a comeback recital in 1948. His career was tragically halted when he developed a brain tumour in 1950, which led to an impairment of his speech. However, he regained his capacities as a singer and gave concerts as a baritone.

SUCCESS 2: DCC electrofrog points

Unbelievable: connected the test track to the DCC Control Unit, placed on it my only DCC locomotive (an ancient French Jouef steam loco in which I had some months ago installed a DCC computer chip) turned the handheld controller to "Go" and the little, ancient, French Jouef moved forward. It travelled along the track, over the points and reached the end of the line. Then I reversed it back the way it had come, changed the points with a flick of the switch and off the engine went over the points and down the other leg of the test track.

When I think of all the experts I have spoken to face-to-face about DCC - nice, intelligent, experienced folk - who have stated their unwillingness to indulge in, sometimes extreme scepticism about and lack of confidence in wiring up the track, the points and the locos for DCC, I can only congratulate myself for having got it all to work; admittedly in the most protracted, inefficient and error strewn fashion.

I wouldn't be surprised if out of the thousand or so model railway enthusiasts in Scotland, only a handful have a DCC layout.

NOTE 1:

One truth oft stated in the literature is that wiring electrofrog points for DCC is no different from wiring them for ordinary DC. The truth is oft stated because, apparently, a myth had  developed that wiring for DCC is a peculiarly complex procedure compared to wiring for DC. The latter is the view I have found expressed by individuals that I have spoken to.

But, I can confirm that it is a myth. The truth is that it is equally hellish learning how to wire electrofrog points for  DCC as DC - however, the principles are the same.

The much tidied up baseboard with elevated test track.

DCC control unit and handset

My little Jouef loco with DCC chip - chassis only

Honestly, it does move!

*********************************************************************************************************

DISCOVERY OF THE YEAR (so far)

Aksel Schiotz

What a voice, this Dane had. Heard a recording of him singing a song by Carl Nielsen last week on Radio 3 but hadn't had time to investigate what was very obviously an ancient archive recording.

Anway, had the time last night, traced the album from which the song had come, found it on iTunes and downloaded it PLUS his rendition of Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin (the song of the Miller, I presume) accompanied by the pianist Gerald Moore, the latter a recording from 1945!

I, myself, can't  describe the sweet quality of Schiotz's tenor voice. But here is a review by an American that I found on Amazon's website.

"Over 30 years ago my college roommate, born in the Netherlands, introduced me to this recording, a treasured favorite of his family's in Europe. And so it has been for me ever since. Perhaps I can best sum up my high regard for this recording by saying that, whereas Fischer-Diskau's rendition of this cycle is for me the work of an exquisitely trained and sensitive artist, Schiotz is, quite simply, the Miller himself singing."

Note: is it right that I am able to get this instant gratification via iTunes. It's become a case of "Like it" "Get it".

SUCCESS: DC electrofrog points

At last, managed to wire up a Tortoise points motor and wire up the test track so that a couple of DC locomotives could run along it and I could change the points by operating  a DPDT switch.

NOTE 1:

Both of these locos (the black coal tender is motorised and thus counts as a loco) are wired for DC only. In other words, they do not have a computer chip inside and always move if power is provided to the track and always stop when power is cut off from the track. This contrasts with DCC  locos which  sit on a permanently powered track but will not move unless their computer chip receives a command from a special DCC control unit.

I wanted to check that all of the wiring to the electrofrog points and its points motor functioned correctly BEFORE trying things out with my only DCC loco; the reason being that faulty track wiring can lead to the DCC chip burning out.

Tomorrow, I will try the same set-up but with the DCC loco and control unit.

NOTE 2:

Once again the snap lock connectors failed and so I connected the feeder wires to the power BUS cables with what are called choc blocks - basically a screw-tightening connection.

NOTE 3:

2 DC power sources were required: I used a 9volt battery for the power BUS which powers the track and a cluster of eight 1.5volt AA batteries to power the tortoise points motor. The points motor is operated by a DPDT switch which I actually wired up myself (see earlier blog). You can see the green Tortoise points motor sitting beneath the board and under the points. It is called a Tortoise motor because instead of suddenly flicking the points one way or the other, it slowly changes them one way or the other - which is what happens with real-life points.

NOTE 4:

Once, I have tried out the set-up tomorrow with my DCC loco, I am going to step-by-step refine the test track. Step one will be to tidy up the wiring and locate it underneath the board. ALSO, I am going to give snap lock connectors one more chance - this time using the set that Nigel Burkin provided when I visited his stall at the recent Model Rail exhibition in Glasgow. He is the leading expert in these matters.

Other refinements will be tried out and reported upon in this blog.

**********************************************************************************
The Beauty of the Anglican Church Service:

Visited the churchyard where my parents' ashes were scattered in a garden of remembrance. As I stood there in the quiet surroundings of this beautiful old church, I was reminded of the beauty of the Anglican liturgy - its words and music. I could hear  voices speaking those beautiful phrases from the Book of Common Prayer.

When I got home I used BBC iPlayer to listen to last Wednesday's Choral Evensong broadcast from Kings College, Cambridge.

It reminded me of something I quoted in a recent blog that the purpose of the Anglican liturgy is "to draw people to God through the beauty of holiness."

SNCF Society

It's annoying when the demands of real life prevent one from indulging in the joys of one's fantasy life - in my case this model rail project!

Haven't done much on this front for several days.

However, this morning the latest edition of the magazine of the SNCF Society dropped through the letterbox.

The fact that there are so many like minded fans of French railways lifts my spirits.

It deals with real and model French railways; organises excursions to France and is packed full of interesting articles about France and its railways.



************************************************************************************
Television

Marquee Moon

Adventure

Couldn't find a video of them playing in the 1970s but they were a New York punk band who could really play their instruments. Not knocking those punk bands from the UK who supposedly substituted enthusiasm for instrumental skill, but American punk bands were far more professional in their presentation than their British counterparts. In fact, I'm not sure that the adjective "punk" really applies to the likes of Television.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYFn8NUicY4&feature=related