Remote control 5″ model

[Dave Bond 1Participant @davebond1]

[Dave Bond 1Participant @davebond1]

I have seen this on you tube, has anyone ever tried this? How much do people control, or is it just regulator? Looks very nice and scale, just wondering how often people do this with their models?

Edited By Dave Bond 1 on 08/03/2016 10:47:28

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

Nice effect. Considered wit with an electric but steam would be more tricky unless gas fired, which would also save having to control the blower.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

May I suggest that people don't click on the ad claiming a driver is missing if it appears on top of the vid.

It is an ad, not a genuine system, message.

Neil

[IanTParticipant @iant]

It's a nice video of a lovely engine and it's probably very unusual to see this kind of operation in 5".

However, to my mind I could easily have been watching a Gauge '3' loco running at any one of the G3 Society's GTG's in recent years. Coal-fired, spirit and gas-fired 2.5" engines have been running under R/C for many years now.

I believe one of the early pioneers of running 'LBSC' locomotives under Radio Control was Ralph Brewer who purchased a 'Fayette' (that he later converted to a form of LNER Atlantic) in the early 1980's. Ralph joined the 2.5" Association but wanted to run his loco in a "scenic setting" – so after experiments at his local MES (Fareham?) – Ralph built a railway in his garden. He used a Futba 2-channel setup and controlled the regulator, reverser and whistle. He considered the blower but decided against it.

The G3 Society was established in 1990 and there were certainly people running 2.5" engines in a 'scenic' setting before then but most of them were 'free-running'. These days R/C is probably pre-dominant at G3 GTG's, although free running engines are still operated. Most people drive using mainly the regulator and use the blower manually when the engines halts for coaling. Some gas-fired engines have a gas-flow control fitted too.

Regards,

IanT

PS Gauge '3' Society Members can access the original articles by Ralph Brewer (that were published in the G3 Newsletter) on the G3 website. If anyone else is particularly interested in Ralph's pioneering work – then please pm me and I will forward PDF copies to them.

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

Personally I think ground level 3 1/2" gauge with remote control has huge potential. Big enough to move like a full size loco, small enough to be relatively cheap and also easy to transport.

Neil

Edited By Neil Wyatt on 09/03/2016 19:21:43

[IanTParticipant @iant]

Others have had the same thought Neil.

I'm pretty sure that many (many) years ago – Model Engineer had an article about someone who built a fully scenic 3.5" ground level railway in his garden. it was complete with a covered 'terminus' (station) . He used to drive his engines lying flat on his stomach, which doesn't sound to comfortable to me. Not sure if he drove right into/under the terminal though.

Probably why they invented radio control.

IanT

[Barrie PurslowParticipant @barriepurslow11592]

The engine is controlled using two channels of a Futaba 2.4 GHz radio intended primarily for aircraft use. Only the regulator and whistle are controlled.

The operation is not without risk, there is no mechanical feed pump and it is coal fired so I stop it once every lap to sort out the boiler water level and fire situation. In fact it would do two laps with ease. The radio link is surprisingly secure given the reputation for being " strictly line of sight", quite dense foliage, trees and even brick buildings have had ne effect so far. In the event of loss of signal the radio goes into failsafe mode and the regulator closes. Finally there is the obvious risk associated with the engine disappearing from view from time to time.

Finally I would like to thank my good friend Jason "Scoop" Pattinson for producing an excellent video.

BP

[Dave Bond 1Participant @davebond1]

Do you have any pictures of how you mount all the servo’s?

Dave

[Barrie PurslowParticipant @barriepurslow11592]

Hi Dave,

I am about to try and post a couple of pictures. The regulator servo is a standard Futaba servo (S3001) and the whistle valve servo is a blue one that cost two quid. Right, here we go…………

Hmm, when I click on the camera it says no albums found and when I click on the "image" button I get a load of Latin. Can anyone tell me how do I include a picture in a post?

Thanks,

Barrie

[Michael GilliganParticipant @michaelgilligan61133]

Barrie,

Here is #1 on the list of FAQs about this site

MichaelG.

[Barrie PurslowParticipant @barriepurslow11592]

Thanks Michael,

I have read Neil's instructions many times but can't even begin to achieve posting a picture. I will get onto Neil for some help.

Regards,

Barrie

[Neil WyattModerator @neilwyatt]

HI Barrie,

I can't really do more than repeat the advice in the link Michael gave.

Create an album, upload photos to it, and then they will be available using the black camera icon on the post a reply area.

Neil

[Barrie PurslowParticipant @barriepurslow11592]

Thanks to Duncan Webster and a few hours in a dark room I believe I am about to post a couple of photos of the servo installation in my Black Five. One small step for BP……….

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