Ewhurst Green - BR(S)

[Mr Bones]

Great idea. Very neat.

[Chops]

I would seriously pay admission to see this layout. Seriously. What an opus, a masterwork, may I say. I will be making a study of your time table. Someday, before I go to that Great Fiddle Yard In the Sky, I will make a pilgrimage to the land of my ancestors. In the mean time, could you be so kind as to post a video of some of these works? It would be a thrill and an inspiration. Please consider.

[tersono]

Given that I’ve lived in Ewhurst & Cranleigh for the last 30+ years, I am fascinated. Will watch this one with interest!

[Chris]

The relay boards are very neat, it would be interesting to see how they and the switches and turn outs are all wired to achieve the simplified control

[Chris]

Having stuck to cheap solenoid point motors they are hard to get too fancy with, currently im looking at using the switches to control signals but also consider what the next point is set to, although im running out of terminals fairly quickly might have to move from relay logic to computer logic

[Mountain Goat]

You've made them look good there. Kadees look very much like buckeyes. Lifting those things can be quite a job on the real thing!
I dont like the look of kadees on locos and older wagons but in between coaches like this, nothing can match the realistic look that they give. The problem is, unlike the prototype, kadde can't be dropped to allow a screw link to take over at the locomotive end. Having said that, I'm just thinking that a simple hook with a wideer formed screw link.... Perhaps I'd better not or I'll be experimenting again.... I've enough to do to keep me busy in 7mm narrow gauge.
Very good though. Its the gap eliminated where the corridor connections are that makes the largest visual difference.

[Mountain Goat]

Not heard of Winterley. I assume they are not cheap?
The good thing about tension lock in 00 gauge is they are already there and they do work... (Most of the time! ).
I'm actually surprised that the RTR manufacturers have not found a better coupling system though. Something that looks more realistic and works well. But the issue is more realistic and works well along wit hoping for a design which also can be used with tension lock is a whole different ball game!

[Steve M]

Not heard of Winterley. I assume they are not cheap?

It’s not one I came across when I was looking at autocoupling on the old forum. I had to look them up.
No prices on their website but they look fiddly and probably not ideal for r-t-r stock without significant modification.
I still like the Brian Kirby method that I adapted and detailed on the forum a few months ago.

[Chris]

Those winterley couplings look good, although they obviously need very fine control, as once coupled you take the tension off to release but go a little further and it then couples again. A nice little video of the operation and the fact that it is not dependant on a hidden piece in the track they are very versatile

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KwgI2eEFo8

[Mountain Goat]

What do other modellers use? I'm keeping my 00 gauge tension lock for now as I'm slowly selling my 00 gauge collection as I rarely get to use it. My efforts go into 0-16.5 when I do any modelling... I did try a brief period of S&W to trial them out and they work well. It was more the cost and effort (Cost as in those days I was on £1.50 a week pocket money) and to convert coaches and some locos was a little beyond me as a teenager. However, since those days I didn't change from tension lock until I went into 7mm narrow gauge where a pair of tension lock couplings being £1.50-1.60 a waggon was just too much. My move to 7mm narrow gauge was partly to keep modelling on a limited budget.
For 00 gauge I like the idea of a hook and loop but in wire form to hide it a bit.