In association with Phoenix Locomotives Ltd, Nottingham SMEE will be hosting their third annual Diesel and Electric Gala on Saturday 14^th and Sunday 15^th of June 2008.

The event will be hosted at the society’s 5” and 7.25” gauge circuits at the Nottingham Transport Heritage Centre.

Invitation holders gain entry free of charge. The weekend promises to be an entertaining event for all ages and a perfect way to spend Father’s Day. Visitors will be able to ride on the Nottingham society’s raised and ground level track. There is also the Heritage museum with a fine collection of locos and railway artefacts as well as a large display of vintage buses.

So why not stop by and see our display in association with MultiCell Batteries. We are planning to bring along our Hesketh, as well as some new models.

Bring your own diesel loco if you wish or just come along for a visit and a chat.

We hope to have a full update posted here in the days after the event, so check back soon.

We went to the Philharmonic Hall in Liverpool last week, to see the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain and very entertaining they were too. I suppose you would expect a Ukulele Orchestra to major on the songbook of ukulele notables such as G. Formby Esq. and Tiny Tim, so Hawkwinds “Silver Machine”, The Good, The Bad and the Ugly and I’m just a Teenage Dirtbag (Wheatus.), come as quite a quite a surprise.

The audience consisted of every age group and were obviously very knowledgable about the Orchestras repertoire.

On our trip home I found myself wondering how they decide what to play. A beautiful piece by George Frederick Handel will be politely listened to and may enthral many members of the audience. Mr Formby’s lampost leaning ditty also has general appeal. I guess we all have our favourites and they are remembered as the highlights of the evening along with a general feeling of satisfaction with the performance overall.

A similar question arose recently when we gave a talk to Nottingham Society of Model Engineers. How do we decide what locos to build? You can cover the obvious factors such as size, weight, availability of drawings or research material. This list is a long one and can be arrived at with the application of reasoning and logic. However, you could build a very nice Class XX but nobody buys it because it just isn’t popular. We often find that people see our range and will make very positive comments about design or quality and finish with ” you should build a Class XX it is my favourite loco”. We do listen to these comments and if Class XX is aked for a lot, then we will be looking at producing it. The reality is we have been asked to build everything from a Class 3 to a Class 92.

There isn’t a wealth of market research for us to refer to. If the Ford Motor Company want to know what the market is for a medium size family saloon. Market research companies can give them fairly accurate statistics. Our hobby and industry is a lot smaller and thankfully a lot more personal, we gather our market research personally by listening to our customers and getting their views.

The Ukulele Orchestra do have the luxury of trying a new piece and gauging audience reaction. A new loco is a big investment for us and we probably have our fingers crossed a little tighter than the ukuleleists that our audience will like our new number.

So our next loco is a bit of an educated guess on my part as to it’s commercial viability. If it’s not your favourite loco give us time, if your favourite is popular with others then there is a good chance we will get there eventually. We intend to have a range as eclectic and entertaining as that of the Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain.

Links

http://www.ukuleleorchestra.com/

http://www.nsmee.com/

What is the connection between an 18th Century Church bell and a 21st Century digital sound and control system for battery electric locos?

There is a connection, but not one that is immediately apparent.

We visited St Mary’s in Eversley recently, at the invitation of our friends; Helen and Alan who were bell ringing that morning. I must admit to having no more than a passing interest in bell ringing, I have always liked the sound of church bells and will sit glued to documentaries on bell foundries etc.

Alan had explained how the sequences of ringing are set out in mathematical patterns and being able to see and hear these being rung made for a fascinating visit. It is much easier to understand the sequence when you can watch and listen.

Inevitably the pitiful body language and eager beaver looks elicited an invitation to have a go…

It is hard work!

My job was to chime the single bell whilst the choir assembled. You to take a very firm grip on the sally (look it up yourself) and try to maintain a nice steady pace. It isn’t as easy as it looks but given (a lot of) practise I reckon I could ring a passable single bell in a year or two.

My excuse for failing to maintain a steady pace was my revelation and lets face it we were in the right place for a revelatiuon. Instead of concentrating on my timing Iwas fascinated by the amount of “feel” and feeback you get through the rope. You can feel the weight of the bell, its position as it swings and the vibrations of the bell as it strikes the clapper. This tactile experience really was amazing and I suppose some of it is obvious.

We completed our morning sojourn with a climb up to the bells in the tower to have a look at the works and half a ton of pigeon droppings.

Safely back at home I found myself thinking that distant church bells will be listened to more attentively in future. The bell ringing experience wasn’t life changing but it did bring home the fact that there is more to it than meets the eye or the ear and it can be profoundly satisfying.

This is where the locos come in.

Battery/electric locos can be driven as a box on wheels, turn the knob and off you go, with no further input until you wish to change speed. SuperSound digital sound and control puts all the “feel” back into the driving experience.
Imagine the scenario………………

Sitting on the steaming bays, you switch on using the Key Switch, The LED indicators light to tell you the loco is ready and your batteries are charged. You check that the loco is not in drive or under power (the LED indicators give you the loco status).

All well? Press the starter button, the engine will turn over for several seconds, the circuit breakers will click in and the compressor tanks will replenish and hiss as they reach capacity. Eventually the starter builds enough revs to fire the engine into life.

Wait for the revs to settle then check the road is clear and move the power handle forward, the brake compressors sigh as the brakes are lifted and the engine revs begin to climb. The loco begins to move under its own power, a small flourish with the horns to acknowledge you have the road, feed more power into the loco and head for the station to collect the first passengers of the day.

Push back to open the power handle and the familiar hiss of the brake cylinders alert passengers the loco is stopping. A quick flick back on the function joystick and brake and flange squeal will emit from the 40watt amplifier. The loco draws to a halt and sits with engines at idle with the occasional hiss of brake reservoirs topping off.

Turn up the engine sounds using the volume control on the side and you are guaranteed to attract an admiring crowd, Turn it down to have a discreet conversation with the station master or your guard.

Ready to leave? Sound the guard’s whistle, acknowledge with a small horn flourish, and take the road. Pull back on the Power Handle increase engine revs and speed, all proportionally controlled by the advanced electronics of SuperSound.

Heading for the crossing, we need full horns as a warning rather than an acknowledgement, Left and right on the function joystick, you control intensity and duration of the twin blasts, You can be sure that people around you are fully aware there is a loaded train on the track!

Cruise around and increase power for the bank, revs rise and engines labour over the rise and then settle back down for the run into the station, back off the power, a little flange squeal and brake noise increasing as you draw to a halt.

On your last run of the day you can draw slowly to a halt, check you have taken the power off and the drive is not engaged, Press the starter button and the engine will shut down followed by the hiss of the brake cylinders and the satisfaction of a job well done.

The tactile feel and audible cues of SuperSound bring your loco alive, you have the feel and sound of full size operation and whilst your passengers and onlookers enjoy the digital sounds of your loco, you have the pleasure of that extra dimension of the hands on approach to loco control.

Back to Church

So the visit to St Mary’s in Eversley was one, which will be long remembered
As well as having hosted my only foray into bell ringing St Mary’s is also famous for the Water Babies window and the fact the author Charles Kingsley is buried in the churchyard,

It is a beautiful traditional church which is also connected to the 21st century via its website at www.stmaryseversley.org.uk (Try the Virtual tour)

Bell ringing is widely supported by enthusiasts worldwide and more can be found at http://www.cccbr.org.uk/

Change bell ringing terms are comprehensively explained by John Sturdy on his website at www.cb1.com/~john/ringing/glossary.html

Teddy bears available at the Midlands exhibition from today.

We have now added the Class 14 Shunter to our range of 5” gauge locomotives.

The BR Class14, usually known as a “Teddy Bear” was specified as a Type 1 Loco by BR and was designed for shunting and short line duties.

The model follows its full size parent as faithfully as possible with full interior cab detailing and correct pattern chequer plate steps.

Traction system closely replicates full size as the drive is through a jackshaft driving all three axles via coupling rods. We have replaced the Paxman 6YJXL engine with a 400w permanent magnet DC motor. (Sometimes we have to use modellers license)!

The exterior detailing and scale is accurate and very high specification with a myriad of polyurethane mouldings and etched nickel parts to complement the one-piece GRP body-shell. Lost wax brass castings are used for additional exterior detailing and white metal castings complete the cab interior.

Packaged with a remote battery carrier or a dedicated riding truck this loco is an outstanding model of a very popular class.

The kit comes with all parts to build, a 24v digital control system with remote handset, battery carrier with quick-release plugs a comprehensive illustrated build manual and a 12-month warranty.

A digital sound system is under development for this loco.

The Class 14 will be unveiled at the Midlands Model Engineering Exhibition today and more information will be released during the following week on the web site.

Sometimes you need to step back from your work and take a break.

So we went to the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway Gala on Saturday. Yes, I know it is still railways! However, it is very relaxing to wander about in the yard and soak up the atmosphere of a railway run by enthusiasts. (A beer from the local brewery also lends itself to the occasion).

I am not going to bang on about the W&LLR; it is wonderful, see for yourself at www.wllr.org.uk .

There was a Garden Railway Show at a local school on the same weekend as the Gala, so we spent a few hours and a few quid in there first. These shows are often a source of inspiration, what happens in the smaller gauges eventually ends up at the larger end of the scale. (DCC sound comes to mind at this point).
Had a look at the Greenspeed Railway Cycle on The Miniature Railway Magazine Stand

Nice to see a modern approach to HPRV (Human powered railway vehicles).

Andrew Neale (bookseller extraordinaire) managed to come up with two sought-after volumes, which will provide research material for future Phoenix products. One is very likely to see the light of day and the other is very much a personal project that will get relegated further and further down the calendar until such time as it gets abandoned altogether or finished in my dotage.

A few pictures from the Gala.

Best piece of milling from solid I have ever seen!

We came across this nameplate:

A fine partner for our Hesketh locomotive

Unfortunately the wheels are the wrong shape !

Dougal. Always a favourite loco, check out the livery on the footplate toolbox!

Here we see Frank modelling a natty ensemble in this season’s colours, a dark worsted, suitable attire for the gentleman stationmaster. This was purchased from John Beesley’s Railway Accoutrements Emporium on Platform 1.

There is always an element of serendipity when visiting a railway. Amongst all the wonderful showmans engines and steam lorries, we came across this lowly Wickham trolley, complete with 350cc JAP engine and hardboard seats!

The Wickham and a cast of thousands.

We rounded off the day with a ride on the railway from Llanfair to Welshpool.
It takes just under an hour to travel the 8 miles with a stop on the passing loop making a pleasant interlude. The 2 axle cars are remarkably smooth running.

The foreshortening effect of the camera makes it look like the driver had the world and his wife on the footplate; the ‘extras’ were in fact on the open balcony of the first passenger coach.

End of a perfect day.

Links:

John N Beesley of Berkhamstead stocks a comprehensive range of railway tools and clothing. (01442 866812) after 6pm.

Andrew Neale can be found at www.railway-books.co.uk