13/07/07: Wired for Round

The guide wire has been fitted to the two right-hand end boards which house the roundabout so it was possible to show moving vehicles to the layout’s first visitor, Mike Wild from Hornby Magazine. Work is now underway on the ten junction mechanisms needed. These will be a revised version of the original design but still powered by electric motors rather than memory wire - the memory wire was just too slow acting for intensive traffic. Full constructional details will follow later.

Way back in the mists of time, when the first roundabout was in place, I reported that the LS18 model had been laid up with a loose motor. Examination has revealed that the motor came loose because the driving axle is binding, the driving axle is binding because plastic has worn away from the chassis. The chassis was modified from a beat-up Faller example obtained cheaply secondhand. At the time new Faller chassis cost more than they do now so I didn’t want to wreck a new one with an experiment that might not work. The old chassis will be canibalised for spares and, at some point, a new one will be bodged together.

The school fete layout mentioned last month has now had two outings. Apart from raising money for charity it has also raised a bit of interest with at least two fathers promising to get their old train sets out of the loft for their children.

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