Talking T Gauge

victorian t gauge · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 1:31 am Post subject: SANDOWN EXPO 2009 Down Under

Well!!, what an impact T Gauge had at this 3 day exhibition! Very Happy

A lot of amazed onlookers, some wondering how it was powered & where the magnets were, i assume wondering how it crosses the bridge Laughing

Some came back again & again bringing friends back pointing "there's that DERM". A lot of curious people asking "what sort of motor powers it?" I reply, "you probably have one in your pocket", then showing them one I have the top off, discribing that they are used as mobile phone vibrate motors.

To my surprise, a lot of people had already seen photos of my vic stock & our layouts on railpage forums & the blog. Zomers briefcase layout received a lot of attention, with a lot of people amazed a whole working fully detailed layout could fit in there! Most of all, shocked people seeing the size of the crossing signs, & the semaphore signal Adrian had built at the expo & installed.

Running of the DERM Saturday started off sketchy, until around lunch when i decided to buy another 4 car 103 set. After a quick test (ran BEAUTIFULLY) I immediately swaped the derm body to a new 103, hoping i wouldnt damage anything to hinder its performance, put it on the rails & SUCCESS!!!! It was running as slow as i have ever seen any 103 run without P.W.M. controllers, I really didnt do much modeling for the first few hours, instead getting down low & admiring the derm running slow, at almost scale speed, imagining myself in the 70s again, on a hilltop watching it pass beneath, then over the bridge.

Constant track cleaning was needed every 15 or so minutes, wheels every couple of hours. In all it ran well for 3 days solid, by Monday afternoon it became a bit erratic, I assume it may have picked up some lint from my cardboard cleaner. I'll pull it down soon & give it a big clean. Im thinking I may have damaged my first 103 sets gearboxes after seeing how well the new ones run. I also have an exciting new adventure in plan after talking to some producers at the show that I'll talk about in a new post shortly. Wink

Mikkatrain · Joined: 25 Feb 2009 Posts: 14 Location: Pearcedale VIC OZ

i loved it!

i have never even touched the stuff and its great

my mum is liking it more so ill get a set soon! Wink

thanks guys for a great saturday.

i loved the derm and ill need to see zomers signal soon Laughing

_________________
i am so smart S-M-R-T

i mean S-M-A-R-T

Miss Victorian T Gauge · Joined: 19 Feb 2009 Posts: 2 Location: Victoria, Australia

Sandown Exhibition was great! Alot of people loved the T Gauge!
I actually started my first T Gauge modelling at the expo, little tiny houses made from cardboard, Roger had photocopied some N Scale kits reduced down to 1:450 and was kind enough to give me some to build. They dont come with instructions so they were a little difficult but i was getting the hang of it. Im proud and happy that i now own some T Gauge, and look forward to building some more. And also more excited to start building another layout with Paul or possibly my own layout and trains!
I've always wanted to model the log train that I see go through my town every night in N Scale, but now thinking how cool it would be in T!
We'll see how I go Smile

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

This thread would be so much better with pictures.... Wink

ian
_________________
I CAN see how cool this stuff is!!!
http://more-t-please.blogspot.com/

DJdeTrainman · Joined: 05 Feb 2009 Posts: 93 Location: New Jersey, USA

I'm with Ian. I'm not even sure what a DERM looks like... (Australians gasp in horror) Shocked

_________________
D.J. (Now also Other David, since Mr. Smith was here first)

http://www.trainweb.org/mccann/offer.htm
-Silence is golden...
...but the noise from T gauge must be at least a bronze.

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

But seriously. It's awesome to see everyone so excited by the show.
We have several severe cases of "modellers high" by the looks of it.

Ian
_________________
I CAN see how cool this stuff is!!!
http://more-t-please.blogspot.com/

B 67 · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 1:50 pm Post subject:

Well, we certainly set the world on fire, didn't we? Mmmm! Perhaps not the best analogy considering recent events in this state, but the interest in T was big. So I was wrong last time when I said that nothing can be big in T. Wink

My order from Eishindo was split by Australian customs, with the all-important trains and track arriving in time for Sandown, but all the accessories - and some more trains, arriving today. Evil or Very Mad

Oh well. Not to worry - Although I did not sell out completely, the fact is that enough T gauge sets were purchased by the public over the weekend that some of those at the door commented that they saw so many being carried out by departing visitors to the show.

Interest was such that I barely got the chance to have a look at the rest of the exhibition.
My layout ran well the first day, but I had problems with the train on the inside track which kept stopping. Due to lack of time to clean the wheels (so many onlookers) I resorted to opening a new train pack - ran okay for a while and stopped. Cleaning the track did not assist. Took the layout and trains back to my motel to spend time cleaning wheels and rails. All to no avail in the end. Then I noticed the green LED on the inside track controller was not as bright as the outside track one. Put in a new set of batteries and saw instant improvement. Rolling Eyes

The batteries had been in use since September, so can't believe I didn't think to check that first.
Part of the problem was also faulty contact from the power cable to the track. But I fixed this at the motel too.

I also started to try using the parts Eishindo supplied to fix the faulty second generation mech. It became obvious pretty fast that repairing T gauge on a small dining table in the dim light of a motel room late at night is not a good idea and the process was quickly abandoned before micro tension springs, pick-ups and wheelsets got catapaulted across the motel room and onto the carpet, never to be found before the cleaners came in the next morning.

Second day was relatively trouble-free, but the inside track did give more trouble after a few hours. I did end up opening a couple more trains over the weekend to keep things running, but by the last couple of hours of the 3rd day, running had become very unreliable on even the outside track (which had had the same train running the whole time). I started mixing and matching the better running cars and got a train with yellow, yellow/green, orange and blue cars.

The mountain train ran well all weekend other than needing regular taps of the track to start it at either end. By the end of the last day, it too was running erratic. So it looks like I am going to have a long cleaning session soon. I think this will involve removing the wheels and cleaning the sides where they have the dimple that makes contact with the side pick-ups. I inspected some and found them to be black, which explains the increasingly poor running over the 3 days.

Anyway, had a great time at the show and have yet to check my shop's email. I expect there will be a few enquiries there when I log on tomorrow.

Darren.
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Darren,
Stratford,
Australia.

David K Smith · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 2:31 pm Post subject:

oztman · Joined: 14 Jan 2009 Posts: 34 Location: Sydney, Australia

A big "Well Done" to everyone involved, and it looks as if a lot of interest has been generated. Can we dare hope that T might get a mention in Australian Model Railway Magazine? Even a letter or two to the editor would be good.

For the benefit of Young David, I don't know what a DERM is either Embarassed

_________________
Gary
Z scale, but very curious about T - and who knows?

trainspotter-usa · Joined: 04 Sep 2008 Posts: 315 Location: Minnesota

DJdeTrainman · Joined: 05 Feb 2009 Posts: 93 Location: New Jersey, USA

This may be completely random, but looking at that picture, all I can picture is a big smile on those WhatAppearToBeGrills, and naming it Bernie, becoming a new member of Thomas the Tank Engine. There is just that special somtething about it, you know? Confused

Anyways, I would greatly appreciate any readers of this forum, wether or not they are currently members, to PLEASE POST PICTURES OF THIS WHAT MUST HAVE BEEN AN AWESOME SHOW, ESPECIALLY THE T GAUGE!!!!! I will pay you with my brothers money Exclamation

_________________
D.J. (Now also Other David, since Mr. Smith was here first)

http://www.trainweb.org/mccann/offer.htm
-Silence is golden...
...but the noise from T gauge must be at least a bronze.

DJdeTrainman · Joined: 05 Feb 2009 Posts: 93 Location: New Jersey, USA

(P.S.-joking... Rolling Eyes

...sheesh!) Confused

_________________
D.J. (Now also Other David, since Mr. Smith was here first)

http://www.trainweb.org/mccann/offer.htm
-Silence is golden...
...but the noise from T gauge must be at least a bronze.

victorian t gauge · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 9:48 pm Post subject:

close Ian, & logical!!!! Wink

but DERM is, diesel electric rail motor. although derms are equally at home runnig either way.

Dj, i would love to get some pics up, but dont own a camera (to busy spending money on trains) but i hope to get some photos up within the week.

Oztman, i was at our club last night & a member who was at sandown told me, he was over the other side of the show after saying hi to us & heard some guys talking in amazement about the derm, t class & pass cars with the detail they had. Very Happy

they were wearing AMRM badges. so they are at least aware & i would be honored to have any models in there!! Very Happy

B 67 · Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 10:43 pm Post subject:

Speaking of AMRM (Australian Model Railway Magazine), I think we should start work on an article for them ASAP. I was thinking along the lines of a general article on T gauge, showing the Japanese products and how they have been adapted to VR prototype. Think I'll start writing it this week. I already have enough photos - although I'll need to get some of the now completed Nowa Nowa layout as well as the DERM. Being stuck with my own stand, I did not get to go around taking photos. I have seen one photo online of both yours and Zomer's layouts online already.

Click here.
_________________
Darren,
Stratford,
Australia.

DJdeTrainman · Joined: 05 Feb 2009 Posts: 93 Location: New Jersey, USA

Don't worry Vic- I don't have a camera: I just use the ones my parents have... Very Happy

...One of the many advantages of being a minor... Wink

_________________
D.J. (Now also Other David, since Mr. Smith was here first)

http://www.trainweb.org/mccann/offer.htm
-Silence is golden...
...but the noise from T gauge must be at least a bronze.