what are people doing on their layout right now

[MinZaPint]

Mike



Oh and best wishes for the New Year,    David

[MalcolmInN]

Would it work with sugar pills or would that be just a placebo ?

[dannyboy]

@newportnobby

jab a teaspoon into the sugar at, say, one second intervals and you get the sound of a train chuffing along. It's quite effective but please don't ask me how I know

Okay, I admit it, I have just been and tried it ............. it works  (And no, I won't ask!).

Happy New Year to you Mick. 

[joe cassidy]

Reminds me of the anecdote about the intro of the Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Woman" featuring a sound made using a coin tapping on an empty beer bottle.

Best regards,


Joe

[ColinH]

Dannyboy For  the more discerning amongst us what it is imperative is that we know what class of loco it represents  Does the coffee granules make a slightly different sound?

[dannyboy]

@ColinH @newportnobby
Unfortunately, I am not yet that versed in the idiosyncrasies of the various classes of steam locomotive power to state that the sound represents any one particular class. However, I can say that the sugar, (Whitworths £1 for a 1.65kg bag at Poundland!), has a good representation of a steam engine, whilst the coffee, (Tesco Gold - one of the better reasons for going there!), has a slightly deeper, 'throatier', sound. Different brands of sugar and coffee may of course, produce a slightly different sound. Hope the above is of some use.  Thanks to Mick for bringing this to our attention.

[Chris Morris]

I'm currently servicing my G scale locos. These locos are quite different from N gauge in the way they are built. I've just been working on an SD45 with two motors and three gearboxes in each bogie. Took it apart, greased everything up, tested each bogie and put everything back together. I then put it on the track and applied power only to be greeted by the sound of wheels slipping but no movement. Somehow I had put the motors back the wrong way on one bogie so the wheels on each bogie were revolving in opposite directions! Talk about getting nowhere fast.

[Newportnobby]

I can say that the sugar has a good representation of a steam engine, whilst the coffee has a slightly deeper, 'throatier', sound.

Hands up how many thought I was barking mad

[dannyboy]

Hands up how many thought I was barking mad

I don't think anyone thought that Mick.                                             

[MalcolmInN]

I can say that the sugar has a good representation of a steam engine, whilst the coffee has a slightly deeper, 'throatier', sound.

Hands up how many thought I was barking mad

prerequisite for us all here isnt it ? !

But I will never again be able to make a cup of coffee with a straight face and without a little fiddle.  Arrgggg what have you done to me (us) !!!

[texhorse]

I experimented with a jar of kids playpit sand and a McDonalds' wooden coffee stirrer.  But it's just not the same.

Wibble.

Andy
UK

[zwilnik]

For the rebuild of Ivebridge I want to use Arduino controlled micro servers for the points. Originally I was going to mount them under the baseboard but it was getting fiddly and would involve servos mounted all over the place, which could be awkward as I'm still experimenting with how to use them.

So what I've done is run drinking straws across the board with 0.8mm piano wire from the points to the edge of the board (or convenient flat areas that I can mount servos in buildings).

Part of my messing about for servo mounts has come up with the idea of building the mounts out of 'not lego' (actually cheap packs of lego compatible blocks from Poundland). I've also discovered "Lego Tape" cheap online that sticks to anything and you can clip bricks to. So I'm testing the idea of clipping the servo mounts to the edge of the baseboard. (I'll probably use the Kraggle on the bricks to make it more secure once it's all working).

[paulprice]

Im putting endless slates onto N gauge roofs

[Mito]

I'm reading the posts here and dipping a spoon into a bowl of sugar. I think I'll see a shrink tomorrow.

[MalcolmInN]

@newportnobby did miss out one vital piece of info.  :  what to tell swmbo when she finds me with a far-away look and vacant expression, stirring the sugar bowl instead of my mug !
Do I plead absent minded / age related or will insanity be the only believable plea ?