Return of the Sith - Sithlord's Railway Blog

"St Alban's Priory" comes home

2012-01-28T16:20:00.000+10:00

8 weeks ago my family and I did the long drive from Longreach for the last time and moved back to our family home in SE Queensland. Since then, Christmas and New Year have come and gone, our fourth daughter has had her first birthday and we have been to Melbourne and celebrated Amity's birthday. While this has been going on, I have found time to work in my train shed, building book cases to house my collection of reference books and magazine and prepare it for the home coming of my layout, which has been in storage suspended from my parents garage roof since 2008.

Well today was the day. Weather not the greatest (although wetter I think than 2011 it has been slower and more widespread and there hasn't been the flooding that there was this time last year) but we managed to jag it for the space, both at my parents house and here at home.

The layout has survived rather well. There are no signs of damage due to insect infestation and while a few telegraph poles need straightening and some signals need a bit of TLC, on the whole it is in pretty good shape. Mind you, I look and parts and shudder to think I thought they were pretty good! They probably were at the time (the layout celebrated it 12 birthday over the New Year period!) given my skill and abilities when I did it. Now I am not sure I would have done what I did had I known what I do.

Pictures tomorrow - even the ugly bits - once I finish bolting it together this evening.

To do in 2012

2012-01-17T15:59:00.001+10:00

I haven't done any modelling this year - been too busy sorting out the modelling space to actually do any real modelling. But since I am going back to work this week following the Summer Holiday I thought it would be a good idea to put a list of what I hope to complete this year out there as a means to keeping me on track.

To work it out I decided I would only look at the UFO box rather than the gloat box (which recently had some etches from Masterclass Models added to it - LNER Quad Art and BR 4-TC). There is plenty to do in the UFO pile but these are the top 10:

Finish the:

NSWGR C38

VR K class

ERG Royal Train

LNWR signal box

Farish Class 33 repaint

the gardens on St Alban's Priory

rewiring job (started in 2007!) on StAP

points on Swallow's End (after fixing up the trackwork!)

Mk3 fodder store to go with the 2mm cattle dock.

Cartic4

So there is 10 things on the list - some should be fairly straight forward (the repaint for example) while others will take a bit (the rewiring job wins this one!). There will certainly be other projects which crop up along the way but hopefully at the end of the year I can look back and tick these 10 off the list.

New Year - New Goals

2012-01-01T20:57:00.000+10:00

2011 done and dusted and 2012 shaping up to a very busy one train wise.

I have been thinking about what I should set my sights on for 2012 now that I am back in civilisation with a couple of hobby shops for bits and pieces (like fishplates, track pins, brass etc) and DIY shops for things like baseboard supplies and so forth. The major improvement in my lot since starting this blog (and the previous threads on RM Web) is I now have access to my train shed - work on which is progressing to get it to the state I envisaged when it was erected in 2007!

So goals - the first one is to take a 2mm Finescale layout to the Darling Downs Model Railroad Club exhibition in June. This is assuming they still hold it! Must email them and ask. Now before anyone says this is overly ambitious (particularly since Swallow's End hasn't progressed since I decided the track needed attention and I hadn't managed to get a working point on it!) it won't be as Amity reckons I should get around to building the rest of my W&U stock and building Elm Road to run it on. So the challenge will in fact be to get a working J70 or Y6 tram (or two) done and dusted. Of course, if worse comes to worse, there is the pair of Class 04s which can sub. As this layout is merely an oval with no points (and either a cassette or traverser system for a fiddle yard) there is nothing complicated track wise to cause issues.

Second, get at least 12 UFOs done - one a month. The list, in no particular order, is the Cartic4, my Royal Train (vinyl overlays from ERG), a Class 33 which needs repainting, DCC chipping my Blue Diesel fleet, my NSW C38 and VR K steam locos (so that gets me to May or June! Must look at the box but will publish the list and then tick them off - lists help get things done I find).

Third - Swallow Street. Long time readers will know this was the BR(S) third rail layout I build and chronicled on RM Web 3 in 2009. They will also know I wasn't particularly happy with some aspects of it and it is now 2/3rds of the way to being scrapped. I have plans to redo it - same track plan and scenic aspects but 1 1800mm board instead of 3x600mm boards thereby making it run much smoother. I am tweaking the track plan in as much as I am putting in a single slip which will move some points closer to the station and hopefully mean one of the signals is easier to see by viewers rather than just the driver!

Fourth - well this is a surprise which will be revealed in the fullness of time! A third layout (what I hear you say!) is a distinct possibility (well the Australian stuff will need somewhere to run won't it?) but I don't want to over reach (or fill up the shed too fast!)

Fifth - go over my layout which has been in storage for the last 4 years (last run in May 2008) and hopefully have some trains running by February.

Sixth - form a NGS/2mm/BRMA Area Group.

There - that, along with family and work should keep me busy! Stay tuned and see how I go.

Christmas Loot

2011-12-28T00:45:00.000+10:00

You know you have done well with training (pun intended!) your family when this is what you get from your wonderful wife and 4 daughters for Christmas. Amity gave me the books (having sorted the ordering herself. I guess it helped having the shelf of all the other Books Of next to the computer!) and the girls gave me a wagon each - increasing my train of colourful and cheerful wagons to 32.

In other news - not much modelling - but progress is being made on the area where it is hoped that a meeting of 2mm SA members, NGS members and BRMA members (some who wear multiple badges but I think I am the only one needing three heads!) with a view to forming a joint Area Group will be held in February next year - if you are interested in joining, please email me for details. Hopefully enough work will get done tomorrow to justify a photo and with even more luck, my layout maybe back soon.

Taking Stock - the coaches

2011-12-14T20:06:00.000+10:00

With the weather and time conspiring against me in getting progress made on my shed (there is still too many things in it which should be in another place but it has been raining which makes moving things around outdoors a little tricky) I have not been able to do too much train wise since moving back home from Longreach.

One thing I have done is collect most of my rolling stock and locomotives from storage at my parents place and one evening this week I took over the dining room table to sort out the coaches. I am trying to work out how best to store them - rakes obviously, but by Era or Region or a combination of both. They may yet be stored in a yet to be determined system based on layout requirements. The first step I felt, after 4 years of buying but not seeing, was to see. As it happens, the photo above isn't all. One of the new Mk 1s (a CK for those keeping score!) is missing from the Blue/Grey set as are the 7 Mk 3s I have waiting to become the Royal Train. Also missing are 20 odd Minitrix Mk 1s (which are most likely to be turned into Thomas the Tank Engine coaches and used by the kids as they have no boxes, some need some attention to reattaching bogies and all have been painted by moi when I was much younger!) So Farish suburbans (LMS type) are also missing as are a few odds and ends around the place not to mention most of my parcels stock. To say Amity was surprised would be an understatement!

Next up will be to sort out my wagons... I may need a bigger table (this one is 8ft x 4 ft and seats 10).

Close Coupling

2011-12-12T08:50:00.000+10:00

Owing to the big move (successfully completed but now unpacking!) not much has been happening on the modelling front. Last night was one of the first forays back into it, but with my train shed out of action (still packed boxes are in it along with other "stuff") it was limited to what I could do on the dinning room table.

This consisted of working though my collection of 101s (RR, SYWP Green and BR Blue 3 car), my collection of Blue Ribband Mk 1s and my Class 411 and sorting out close couplings. I set up a reverse curve using some Kato 315mm radius curves and set to work.

The results are quite pleasing. One short and one long Farish NEM Rapido in each Mk 1 and these go round happily both pushing and pulling coupled long to short. For the MUs of all persuasions, I have used the Dapol knuckles. For all 4 sets a pair of shorts worked fine.

For those wondering what my train shed looks like - picture below. 7.5m by 6m and no, I don't have t share with the car! I do have to share with my own workshop but that is ok as it is MINE, ALL MINE (Bahahahahahhaha!) (Tinks (in best Bluebottle voice) "maybe I have been in the outback too long" Untinks)

The Last Post

2011-11-29T20:42:00.000+10:00

This is probably the last post from Longreach as we are leaving on Saturday for home - and the train shed! 4 years in the bush minus my main layout has been at times quite depressing particularly as I would (like I did today) get some nice models and not have anywhere nice to run them (the RR and SYWP 101s arrived today). I won't have my layout probably until the New Year but it will be much closer (at 30 mins instead of 12 hours drive!) than it has been in a while, and with my full set of tools and my shed, I can make a proper start on some of the plans I have, together with faster progress on some of the things which I have started whilst out here.

The last bit of modelling was done today - I got some black on the K class. Tonight I have spent some time sorting out and packing away my work bench.

Photo of the K below - looks pretty good. Once I get the steps on, I will do some detail painting before looking at the transfers - then there is the tender bogies and I will be done.

Victorian Railways K Class Part II

2011-11-27T12:34:00.000+10:00

Progress has been made on K190 with some of the brass detailing bits having been done. As you can see in the head on shot, the body isn't on square (and the handrail above the smoke box door needs fixing) but it does sit square - just not fitted correctly for the photo. I still need to do a bit of cleaning up around the cab windows and add in things like the steps and so forth before painting in black. I tried to organise it so the light would work on this one too (see the 3801 updates below) but almost drilled a hole in the middle of the smoke box so decided to abandon the project where it is. I will paint the inside of the light silver prior to glazing.

The tender has had no work done as yet - I have to sort out the lack of bogies for it so inspiration has been hard to come by.

Victorian Railways K Class

2011-11-23T21:50:00.000+10:00

Along with the Badger Bits C38 kit mentioned previously (now waiting for me to get to Brisbane and Horizon Hobbies to purchase the paint recommended by the Australian N Scale e-Group) I purchased the VR K Class kit as I had been on a trip from Lilydale to Yarra Glen with K 190 around the same time as 3801.

Like the 38, it is a resin casting to fit on a Micro Ace chassis. Unlike the 38, no mods are necessary to the chassis and the loco body was easy to clean up. Progress pic below, followed by one of the real thing I found on the Internet (Michael Greenhill's photo from Flicker.) I plan on making mine look like this, minus the sticker under the cab window so it is an ideal shot for inspiration for the model. I have thoughts on the motor in the cab but haven't explored options for making it smaller yet. Next step with the body is to drill out the chimney and then put on the brass etch detailing bits.

More 38 progress

2011-11-13T10:11:00.001+10:00

I have almost got to the point with my 38 that all which will be left will be spraying it green, the detail painting the cab roof, cylinders, front end and light before putting the transfers on and the glazing in before coaling the tender. This means I have managed to fit the front buffers and steps, fit the cab steps, put on the rear buffers and fit the tender ladder and put on the hand rails - I have, at the time of writing, only put on the RH side one. LH side hopefully later today. I have also managed to fit the body to the chassis square - my initial efforts had it a little RH down but a bit of clearing of the inside of the has solved this.

The twist in the ladder has been fix - I guess that is one of the uses of close up digital photography!

You can see the slant in this pic taken with the motor removed but the light on. Quite pleased with the effect although I will be dimming the light once I DCC the loco.

38 progress

2011-11-05T18:34:00.000+10:00

Having put in about an hour of work on the cleaning up of the cast for the body (which needed a bit, but only on the underside of the footplate and around the front steps - the boiler was very clean with no need to file or fill).

The Micro Ace chassis which is supplied for this has a light in it so I have painted the whole black (including the tender so there should be no problems when I come to paint it all green - at least the green will have the same undercoat) to stop the light shining where I don't want it. I due course (tonight possibly) I will drill out the front light and after painting fill it with some Micro Glaze or something similar.

Don't worry if you are looking at it and thinking the body is high at the cab end - it is. It does go on straight but this was a quick photo session to show progress to a couple of people and to update the blog.

My parents sent me the photo below - I am the one of the left looking at the photo with my brother. This was 3801's first trip on the Main South to Moss Vale following its return to steam in 1986. We had travelled up from Melbourne on the Inter Capital Daylight (instead of chasing it in a car as we normally did) and then following the return from Moss Vale caught the Melbourne Express (the replacement to the celebrated and much missed "Southern Aurora" sleeping car express) overnight back to Melbourne. I am planning on making my model look like this - possibly without the two little boys in the foreground however!

NSWGR C38

2011-11-03T16:38:00.000+10:00

A few years back I met Phil Badger of Badger Bits and Ixion fame - prior to the initial Manor release actually - at the AMRA Exhibition in Brisbane. Phil had emailed me prior to the show to say he was coming to Brisbane for it and would love the opportunity to catch up. His intended 30 mins ended up being 3 days and at least one evening into the small hours as he learnt a lot about British steam locos from myself and Ben of Oz (check out Ben's stuff on RM Web by searching for nebnoswal - he is doing a great job of building Sturminister Newton on the SDJR in his shed in Victoria).

Phil brought with him this:

Now for those who don't know a lot about Australian Steam the NSW Government Railway C38 hold pride of place - mostly because the class leader, 3801, travelled across the continent in 1970 and again in 1988 prior to Flying Scotsman doing the same in 1989. (Had the Victorian Railways not scrapped their S Class 4-6-2 Streamliners, then the C38 may not have had top spot.) Suffice to say, 3801 is the Australian equivalent of 4472. The model photographed on my "St Alban's Priory" layout is of 3802, the next in the class. 5 were finished like this, and 25 without the bullet nose and cowling on the top of the boiler. Similar to the LMS Duchesses the streamlining didn't make much difference to the capabilities of the class.

I have been eyeing off getting one of my own pretty much ever since and in today's post I got both the Badger Bits kit for the C38 - with 3801 transfers - and a kit for a Victorian Railways K class 2-8-0.

So far work has progressed on cleaning up some of the flash on the body - resin cast and it goes on a Micro Ace chassis. Can't really tell you much about it as Phil forgot to put the instructions in and I haven't yet emailed to ask for them!

Photo to date:

All things considered it is a pretty clean casting. Further progress photos and postings in due course.

Something a bit different

2011-10-30T12:37:00.000+10:00

Introducing the EMD FP7-DC Demonstrator.

I was inspired earlier this year by Nick Dibben's "Willow Bridge" in NGS-J 2/11 to dig out some of my US stuff and have a play - which in turn had the Darling Daughters get out their assorted collection of stuff, practically all of which has been purchased because they liked it and is generally of US outline and from the bargain bin at hobby shops (no sense spending a lot on something which has a better than average chance of heading to the floor at the hands of a 2 year old, although it has to be said they are all very good with the trains - mine and theirs). Amongst the stuff we were playing with were some Bachmann FP7s which I had purchased with the intention of using them and the TPM MU motorising kits to make some EMUs for "Swallow Street". With that layout being in store pending a rebuild in 2012, the making of the EMUs took a back seat and now that Farish has announced their entry into RTR EMUs (with the hope that they may shrink the 2EPB and MLV from OO down) there isn't much incentive to do anything with the pair of A units nor the one B unit I have left.

As a result I had a thought and the photo above is the result. The main idea is from the Victorian Railways B Class - see here - but the B is a Co-Co and a bit longer than this. So I have dubbed it the FP7-DC Demo. The FP7 was a passenger rated version of the F7 with an extra 4 feet for the water supply for the steam heat boiler. As this is a Double Cab version, it made sense to call it the DC. As there were never any in service the Demo was pretty obvious.

I have done some filling of holes prior to putting new ones in. The two donor bodies were PRR and NYC and these had different number boards so this has had to be fixed. A bit of milling and removal of metal from the chassis was required to fit the second cab on but this was fairly straight forward. Drive chain wise, nothing was needed to be done.

I have a bit more filling to do prior to working out a paint scheme - maybe EMD like this loco. Then there is the refitting of the couplings and putting it to work on the kids layout - probably as Dad's Engine so there isn't too many fights over it!

Chivers LNER CCT

2011-10-26T21:38:00.000+10:00

I had a win on eBay a few weeks back, picking up 3 LNER CCTs from the Chivers stable already built from the USA for the right price (compared to a new kit - and that included very quick by US Mail standards, postage). I have been hoping to get a few more of these to go with the one example I have from when Chivers was still producing the whole range of their N Gauge kits (unlike the current situation where they seem to drip feed one shop in Preston, UK - I obtained 2 GWR Pythons from their eBay store following a tip off on the 2mm VAG a month or so ago).

When these landed the first thing I noticed was the paint job looked better in the pictures! Not a problem, as I was thinking of BR era (57 were built in 1950) rather than LNER so into the stripper they went. The clean up was pretty easy and then I had a closer look at the build.

A few issues need to be resolved. The Chivers kits are probably the best for minimum flash going around and these are no exception. There was the odd bit in the window apertures so I sorted that out and a bit on the roofs. Closer inspection of the roofs showed that while the vents had been fitted, only 4 out of 24 were aligned correctly so I have chopped them all off and will replace them with spares that I have - although I am leaning towards putting Ultima torpedo vents on instead because they are bigger and while possibly not to scale, they look "right" compared to the Chivers option.

On reflection the paint jobs will be three - one is going to get LNER teak to join the collection of LNER vans I have - and I will put 2mm replacement W irons on so I can put it on the 2mm track easily. One is also going to be painted BR Blue - although possibly not as weathered as the photos on Paul Bartlett's wagon site (link to the right). The third I am not sure about. I have one in Crimson so it may be painted maroon to give me the fourth option. Time will tell.

Dapol Class 26 Review

2011-10-23T14:54:00.000+10:00

Having read good things about this (and having seen some pictures of the blue one attached to some of the new Mk 1s from Farish) I decided to get one on a whim as it doesn't fit my modelling interests - they were mostly based in Scotland I believe.

My example arrived last Friday (21st) and ran beautifully from the box. No dramas at all. The only complaint I had (and this is almost universal with my new era diesels) is the red is on all the time and cannot be switched off - OK when running light engine but not too flash when hauling a train. The other minor grumble I have is the blue seems to be a bit too green when compared with other Blue Era models I have (and not just the Farish ones - seems Dapol have changed the paint spec).

I went to put a TCS EUN651 chip in it and that was when the trouble started. The instructions don't warn you the lights are attached to the chassis. I found out that they are plugged in from a post here on the N Gauge Forum. Initial efforts to put the chip in proved to be far from easy. To start with the body wouldn't sit down correctly so after a few attempts I removed the chip and put the blanking plug back - the blanking plug is noticeably shorter than the chip I chose so I wondered if the chip wasn't the best choice. No dramas really I figured I would email Dapol and ask.

As it happened, the wires leading from the plug leading to the LED cluster managed to work loose. The infamous Dapol dry solder joints seem to have finally struck me. Mind you, I don't have a lot of Dapol locos as I have been made gun shy of them by the horror stories of the Mk 1 versions - although the diesels tend not to have these in the same abundance as the steam locos. Now sending it back is usually the cry in case like this - and fair enough too. The loco had merely been run for an hour and now one set of LEDs wouldn't light up merely by the owner attempting to DCC the loco. No tools near it.

Since I was emailing Dapol about the chip I added the information about the light. Joel @ Dapol replied quite quickly asking, not unreasonably I thought, for photos. So I sent them off. Nothing heard from them since so a bit disappointed considering there was a few hours left in the business day over there when I emailed the second time - POETS perhaps?

Fortunately I have been able to fix the LED cluster (seems the soldering of 2mm kits has paid off in other ways!) and by removing some padding and replacing it will some tape (since I assume the padding is part of the insulation protection for the plug) I have fitted the chip of choice and the loco is now happily trundling around DCC and ready to go. Still have the red LED issue to sort.

I have discovered one other niggle - the coupling pocket. It would be handy if Dapol included a bogie surround which was minus the pocket - or even a spare which the owner could cut the pocket off. The pipes and bits which are included in the bag can only be fitted as far as I can tell with the coupling pocket removed. Now this would render the locomotive as a one direction loco. Not a problem for a DVT or a steam engine (such as the forthcoming A3 or A4) but on a 26 it is a bit of a pain. More because if you change your mind and remove the pipes to sell the loco in the future you can't replace the coupling. So I am not sure - I haven't worked out a train for this loco yet but it may end up hauling some Mk 1 coaches with Sc numbers whereupon I may remove the coupling and put the pipes in. In the meantime, a short shank coupling is going in and we will see what happens.

Sealion II

2011-10-20T20:15:00.000+10:00

I have not been doing much modelling of late - work mostly getting in the road and an impending 1200km move in early December having had me pack quite a bit of stuff in preparation being the chief reasons.

I have managed to get the odd things done around the place and one of the more recent sessions resulted in the Sealion previously shown in brass having been painted and the bogies fitted. I have had a chance to compare it with the Farish offering and the two are significantly different - and not just because mine is black! The main fault I have with this one (other than the doubtful build of the chutes but too late really and it is hard to see standing still, much less underway) is the coupling distances. I will have to do something about that, but at this point in time, it goes around my test track (which required the bogies to have brass washers put between them to give a little more height for the flanges) and, once loaded and weathered, should look pretty good with the allocated 33 that it is getting. I just have to get one of the new transfer packs from the NGS to finish it off. And maybe a couple more kits so it isn't lonely!

DCC

2011-10-14T20:45:00.000+10:00

I have been having a play with my DCC gear again having received a number of chips from Bromsgrove Models and Hatton's. So far, I haven't seen much difference between the TCS 6 pin and the Bachmann 6 pin in the Class 24 I have been having a fiddle with. Now the general consensus from a number of points of advice all said the Bachmann chip was useful for putting in the trailing car of DMUs (which is partly why I got a few from Hatton's - I have two 108s and a 150/1 and 150/2 at present with 3 101s on order (including a 3 car set) along with the 411 EMU) but given that it is the Bachmann chip and the literature says it is tuned for the Graham Farish range I thought I would give it a go.

The only real difference I have been able to see is in the options for lighting - although I can't seem to get the random firebox flicker to work on the TCS chip to make it look like I have oil lights burning instead of the lights behind the discs. Maybe it is all too subtle. In any case, having put the conversion TCS drop in board into my Atlas GP-9, I am very pleased to be able to select a variety of lighting options so my cunning plan at present is to put Bachmann chips into Bachmann locos (and given the price is almost 2 to 1 against the TCS) where possible, and put TCS chips where it isn't (so I will be getting some Z2 chips in due course for my 04s and 08).

Now I don't have a big layout for fooling around with DCC - in fact it is merely a length of Kato Unitrack to test and program on - but it is nice to have all the locos sitting there with their lights on (assuming they have them - the Class 45 conversion doesn't) and being able to move the one in the middle without needing a lot of switches!

Reviewing progress

2011-10-10T21:43:00.000+10:00

I did some more work on Swallow's End tonight and in the end, decided a number of issues were going to bug me if I kept going.

The first of these - and arguably the most significant - is the fact that doing the "dirt" has resulted in me having to double layer it. This, I suspect, is partly because I didn't paint the board under the "dirt" brown first and therefore the white showed through the Woodland Scenics scatter too much. While putting a second layer of dirt on isn't that much of a hassle, it resulted in the dirt being higher than the ballast. Now previously I have done the dirt first and the ballast last, and I have been using Peco track so the depth of the ballast is significant, compared with the surrounding country side. This time I did ballast first and dirt second and using PCB sleepers, the depth of the ballast isn't deep enough compared with the double shot dirt.

The second thing which has been irking me, is working in small sections. Previously I have tended to paint a wide area (mind you in the past the narrowest layout I have had has been 800mm heading upwards to 1000mm and lengths have been in the 2500mm heading to 4100mm so lots of dirt required!) with glue, sprinkling away then flood with more glue and walk away until 48 hours had passed. Now the 48 hours still holds true but the smaller patches are showing up with boundary marks. While I know there are boundaries for fences and whatnot there are too many patches with this landscape for my liking. I have tried hiding them using various methods but I haven't been satisfied with the results.

Consequently I have decided the whole lot has to come up and I will restart. Because the track has been glued down with PVA or taped down with DS Tape, all this is going to come up as well. As it happens, the only bit which I will lose is the the concrete slab for one of the coal merchants - I don't think the paper will survive the bath which is coming up!

On one hand it is a bit frustrating that the hours I have spent ballasting and what not around the places which I could do it have come to naught but on the other hand, given that this is a whole new standard of track and rolling stock to what I have done in the past, I feel that I should strive to make all of it better than normal. My first efforts fell short - and it has cost me time, a packet of scatter material (well most of a packet - there is still some left over) and some glue. Cheep as learning experiences go.

So tomorrow is shaping up as bath night for Swallow's End. Then I will see about putting the track down on cork or something similar to get a bit of height on the surrounding country side - not much, 2mm at the most so I get a nice looking track bed - and I will paint the dirt areas brown before I put anything down this time.

And to think I looked at Missy's Highclere and was a bit smug that I hadn't ripped mine up. He (or she) who laughs last... or pride goeth before the fall.

Return to Swallow's End

2011-10-05T22:08:00.000+10:00

After a hiatus of many weeks (months actually) I decided it was about time I did something more on my embryonic 2mm layout.

At last visit, I had made a start on the dirt, and had put down all the track bar the points, having also ballasted the track which was put down. I am still not convinced, having put soil around the place, that ballasting first, rather than my usual last, is a good idea. There is more cleaning up to do on the edges than I usually have to do - my logic for ballast last is that is what happens in the real world although, to be fair, in the real world the track comes after the landscape!

I hadn't put the points down because I hadn't sorted out how I am going to change them - the TOU. I still haven't although I have a couple of ideas which is why I thought I should do something. The first something I had to do, was make sure all the points were "gapped" correctly. This involves making sure the frog is electrically separate from the side running rails - which are also having to be separate from each other.

Being a little concerned about the issue of short circuits, I thought about if for a while and decided the simplest thing would be to wire a light bulb into a circuit with the points. The photo below probably explains it better than I can with words:

Simply power from a 12v source to the light, then to the RH rail. The other rail connected to the other terminal on the power source. If the light is on, then the point isn't gapped. Find all the bits I missed (which turns out to be more than I thought or hoped) and clean up the various over solders and missing gaps - usually where I hadn't cut all the copper away cleanly - until the light goes out. Move one wire to the frog and see if it goes on with a feed to either outside rail. If not, then success.

Tonight I have, in between watching TV, checked two of the 6. At this rate, I will have them all done by the weekend, at which point I will trial fit them on the layout and make sure the frog rails aren't touching anything they shouldn't. Then the TOU saga begins in earnest!

LNWR Horse Box - Paint update

2011-09-29T22:06:00.000+10:00

Sorry about the poor photo - you should have seen the others! - but it shows where I am at with this kit. The roof is bowed - I seem to have managed to muck it up after fitting and it has flattened out where the square vents are. It is more noticeable in the photo than normal but given how long it has been gestating and how much my skill level has improved since then, I figure it will serve.

Paint is the Precision version of LNWR Plum. Sources vary as to what colour this vehicle should be so I have pleased my self with this. The couple of photos I took with a flash actually showed it is quite thin in parts so I suspect it may need redoing with an airbrush in due course. There is still the matter of lining and so forth but this will have to wait for another day. Once all is complete, I will add the brake cylinder which will be a left over one from an NGS kit.

Comments, as always, are welcome either on the blog (which is a hassle I know) or via email.

Organising

2011-09-26T18:31:00.000+10:00

One of the advantages of coming to Brisbane is it has given me the opportunity to organise most of my collection and make some plans for the next couple of months.

I brought down the majority of the stuff I had in Longreach - some which is now, a few days later, heading back - so I could put it all together and get some sense of where I was at with providing for the various interests I have. As it turns out, I needed both more time and more room to do this!

The first thing I learnt is, I don't have enough stock boxes to make a coherent plan. My ideal situation is to have things organised by region and era - particularly with coaching stock as this has a greater impact on setting the scene than goods stock does - but I found I was about 4 storage trays short of doing this effectively. On one hand, this is annoying as it means I will have to get the materials and make some more, but on the other hand it is useful to know before the big move so I can budget for this stuff in advance.

The second thing I learnt is trying to organise goods vehicles is a bit of a mugs game. In the end I am putting them in three categories - fitted, unfitted and shunting. The last is those wagons which are fitted for hands off shunting. My present system is to use the Peco couplings, the lifting arms and electromagnets, but having tried DGs I am a bit of a convert so I can see a mass re-fitting program taking shape which will probably see all the Peco wagons progressively be replaced with Farish ones. This has its benefits as the Farish ones are better looking and more accurate. The down side is replacing 60 wagons! There will be a time when both are being used I am sure.

Lastly I was able to gather up all my BR Blue era locos (along with the 04 Trams) with a view to fitting them all with chips for DCC operation. There are quite a few to do - some, like the 37, are plug and play. Others, like the Poole Farish and most of my 73s are not so this will be an adventure. First thing is to work out which chips to use. So research coming up.

AMMC - 2011

2011-09-23T18:01:00.000+10:00

The 8th Annual British Railway Modellers of Australia (Queensland) Modelling Competition took place on Thursday 22nd of September this year and I made the 1200km journey (with wife and kids) the day before - partly to enter and partly to return the 3 trophies I won in 2010. I was in-eligible for these 3 categories this year and, while I was keen to enter the remaining 4, in the end I was only able to get organised for 2 - the Diorama and the Scratch Built Line Side Structure.

As you can see from the photo, my cattle dock was judged the winner in the Line Side Structure and the diorama which I made for the N Gauge Forum was successful in the Diorama section. Both of these categories were well represented this year after both failing to have enough entries last year.

I was unsuccessful in the main prize - the Martin Astle Memorial Trophy for Best Model which was awarded to a 7mm model of 4472 in A1 condition. There is, however, next year!

GER Mac K - Part I

2011-09-16T23:17:00.000+10:00

My efforts for this evening. Not the traction engine - it has been on blogs before. No, the Masterclass Models GE/LNER Mac K on which it is sat. Unfortunately, I don't have any buffers or these would have been included. As you can see, one of the DG's is fitted - the latch end. I haven't put the bar end on yet.

I purchased this kit from Shop 2 simply because it is a GE kit. When I got it, I had a look at the etch and thought gloat box for a bit. Tonight however I got it out because my original plan for the evening, building a chassis to go under an NGS MR van kit, wasn't going to happen because I have a 9' chassis and I need a 10' Peco replacement. So I had an evening with modelling mojo present and nothing to do...

A bit of a rummage round presented either the above or the pair of LNER Toad E's I have, also for the W&U collection. I have a quick look at the destructions for the Mac K and decided it wasn't all that bad and so sallied forth. The picture above is the accumulation of 2 hours solid work - only one cup of tea was harmed in the making of the model.

The destructions suggest fitting DGs is interesting. Certainly you can see how I have bent it upwards but it couples and uncouples from the test wagon so it can stay that way. I folded up the mounting plate behind the buffer beam and then filed a bit off the buffer beam down to the mounting plate before putting the DG on, having cut the mounting bit on the DG quite thin.

The traction engine is the Fleetline/Skytrek one, minus the roof (Trevor the Traction Engine doesn't have a roof - he also maybe a different model but Rule 1 and all that!).

All quite - well kind of

2011-09-12T22:00:00.000+10:00

Work has gotten in the way of hobbies of late - it being the time of the year that my Yr 12 stuff has to be sorted out and sent away for verification. Coupled with kids who aren't sleeping well, there isn't a lot of modelling mojo going around.

In an effort to try and do something, I tidied my work bench (Amity suggested I should take a before and after picture and blog that but I don't think there is much difference between the two - it is more organised chaos rather than merely chaos when it is tidy!) and did some pottering. Nothing worth photographing but this is what has happened:

DGs have started to be fitted to the Fruit Van train which is destined to be hauled by either a BR J70 or a Cl 04 when Elm Road is finally built, early next year.

The treads on the Cartic 4 are half done. Not a fan of stainless steel, no matter how much nicer it might look compared with n/s. I think the n/s would have been better as it would have been soldered into place rather than glued - and with less bubbles. Definately need cars for this first one!

A perliminary coat of paint has been applied to the LNWR Horsebox.

So not much for the best part of a week. I must really get stuck in and get a couple of things finished prior to next week - we are going to Brisbane for the BRMA(Q) AMMC. Hopefully I can manage to snare a couple of prizes - Scratch built lineside structure (the Cattle Dock) and Diorama (the Cattle Dock again - but this time with art around it as previously shown!).

LNWR Horse Box - Update

2011-09-04T13:49:00.001+10:00

Way back in August 2010 I blogged about building the PC Models shoot down of the D436 LNWR Horsebox as sold by Ultima. Some of you may have found this blog because Alan linked to it from the relevant page in the catalogue.

Well, progress didn't get beyond what I showed back then, because I was trying to figure out a roof (and what the roof should look like) and the detail on the chassis. I was also wondering how to fix the errors I had made in folding the chassis as it didn't run square.

Having learnt a lot in the last 12 months, the box with the model in it, made it back to the top of the UFO pile and, given that I have been on a bit of a Pre-Grouping build kick recently, I took another look. I had managed to pick up David Jenkinson's LNWR Carriages (Pendragon) which had a picture of 'box number 337 in it and a diagram number so Google was more useful with this information, showing me a couple of other kits from different manufactures in different scales. As the roofs on all of these were the same they were either a) correct or b) working off the same incorrect drawings. I figured since it is almost 90 years since the LNWR became part of the LMS and over 60 years since these were running in LMS livery, I feel that the chances of anyone "knowing" it is wrong assuming b) above are slim so I went for it.

As it happens, having seen the pictures of the completed models, I learnt the vents were square. I was wondering how I was going to model these (having assumed the etch supplied only flat bits and the vents would be castings - not supplied) I had another look at the etch and found they were fold ups needing me to only find a scrap bit of etch to put a lid on.

Further fettling of the chassis resulted in it getting worse, not better. I was still no closer to working out how to do the axle boxes and springs but discovered I could get these via Ultima - I don't think Alan had them 14 months ago when I ordered the kit. I decided in the end to cut my loses and used a 2mm SA etched bogie, cut in half and fiddled around to the point where the thing runs square rather than crabbing - it isn't spot on when you look at photos but given that it wasn't going to look spot on anyway, I think practicality trumps look in this case.

So an updated photo of the first one - armed with my learning on this, I am going to organise a second which, hopefully, I will do a much better job on. I have yet to work out a paint job - LNWR plum, "quick brown" or LMS crimson.

Painted GER Wagons

2011-08-28T12:39:00.001+10:00

I have had a go at painting the Prize Cattle Van and the Fruit Van but I am not too pleased with the results. The biggest hassles are getting good coverage of the white - on the Fruit van there has been a bit too much of a build up around the vents for example - and the painting around the louvers on both. Part of the problem is I am limited to a brush so the coats are thin and take time but probably aren't thin enough. I think I will strip both when I get back to Brisbane at the end of the year and redo with an air brush - at least that way I can prime in grey, paint white then mask and paint LNER Teak. I am working on the basis that they are 1920s version and by this stage, rather than varnish (as was done in early GER days) the works painted.

The second of the Fruits is at the stage of needing buffers and the underfloor stuff done (the pair above need some detailing bits done under the floor too but as these will be in plastic and then painted black, it isn't critical at the moment!) but I will have to organise with Shop 2 some buffers before anything else happens there.

More GER Wagons

2011-08-20T21:00:00.001+10:00

Having gotten inspired following the progress on my GER Cattle Wagon from the 2mmSA and the drawing closer of train 2 for the proposed Elm Road layout (base board building is slated for January BTW) I decided to hook in and get started on train 3. Those familiar with W&U books will be also familiar with "The Sweeper Train" as Amity and I have dubbed it. Basically it is a picture of a mixed train of two GER Sundry Vans, a GER Prize Cattle Van, something which looks like a GWR Python (but probably isn't!) Brake 16, a bogie tramcar and a 4 wheel tramcar, all hauled by G15 (Y6) No. 0125.

Long suffering readers will remember back in March or so last year (2010 - helps to put this in for readers in 2012...) we got some etches (some? Heaps!) from David Eveleigh to put together the stock of the W&U. These etches included most of this train. The 4th vehicle is the only one missing (the one which looks like the GWR Python to this untrained eye). So I have been doing stuff towards this.

First up is the GER Prized Cattle Wagon. As it happens one is still in existence and is in store at the North Norfolk Railway. A picture of one way back when is here. Pity it is in B&W because I have spent some time this afternoon trying to work out if these wagons were painted a la Passenger Stock (ie Teak) or having being converted to fruit conveyance (hence its appearance in The Sweeper Train in 1921) to GER Slate Grey (and therefore the colour the GER Cattle Wagon in the previous post). I am pretty sure they didn't make it into Crimson, which is what coaching stock was painted in from 1919.

David's etch for this is merely the body. Chassis and Roof along with other bits and pieces as required the problem of the builder. This one is running on the same chassis as the Cattle Wagon but with both sides braked. The roof is a spare one I had around, still have to remove the last vestiges of the rain strips as the roof was for something longer!

Second up we have one of the two Sundry Vans which appear at the front of the train in question. This time all the required bits other than wheels, bearings, coupling and the hand rail seen over the steps are included. Again, my research hasn't convinced me of the livery for this wagon, but it was still classified NPCCS in 1921 so I suspect it was teak. The photo which I am working off, does have the tramcars in a much darker shade of grey - and the bogie one has a white roof suggesting recent shopping and thus painting. This would make the tramcars in the Lake livery which No 7 is currently in at the NNR and the rest of the train in...

Amity suggested I should paint the two wagons in what I think is the correct livery, post the pictures and sit back and await developments.

The Prize Cattle wagon was at a running stage prior to the weekend, merely requiring the roof to be added along with the DG. The Sundry Van was started yesterday evening so is the work, on and off, of just on 24 hours. I am aiming to have the second one completed prior to going back to work on Monday.

GER Cattle Wagon revisited

2011-08-18T21:22:00.000+10:00

I found some buffers when I was tidying up my workbench so I have pressed on (despite fighting whatever dreaded lurgy there is travelling around Longreach at present) and fitted these and painted the wagon. Still have to do transfers and then weather.

Last post I said I would try and take some pics of the interior. Members of the VAG will have seen the results of these - they served their purpose but weren't especially good shots of the model. This photo shows the interior in what I think is more likely circumstances - still shows up, but not worth the hassle I think to do much with.

Hopefully I will have a productive weekend - as this wagon is for the W&U collection and progress is being made on the DG couplings on the Fruit Vans, I am hopeful of starting on train 3 over the weekend.

GER Cattle Wagon

2011-08-09T21:08:00.000+10:00

Above is my build of the 2mm SA GER Cattle wagon kit running on the recommended chassis. I don't have any buffers (NYA or TOS seems to be the issue there) so it isn't ready for painting yet. I have managed to work out a system for DG couplings and these are fitted and work on the test bench so very please with self for that.

The original build didn't use the wire you can see in the photo but rather the pink monofilament stuff you get (got?) in Ratio signal kits for forming the handrails. Following discussion on the 2mm VAG I changed this for 0.25mm wire which I fitted by drilling holes in the ends and threading through, fixing in place with super glue. There has been some discussion on the view of the inside - I tried without any success to take a picture of the inside but will have another attempt with daylight rather than flash tomorrow (it being just after 2100 here as I type). I do know one thing - when you hold the finished product up to the light, you can almost see though the side planking so I think it is a bit too thin to do much with - there is the option of gluing styrene strips on the inside to look like planking if it is something which matters to the individual.

The side of the chassis in shot has the brake shoes - the other side is shoeless and leverless as this is what the photos provided to me by members of the VAG show. I wasn't particularly surprised at there being only 2 of the 4 wheels braked but I was surprised that the lever is only on the brake side, not on both. Someone will doubtless tell me if I got it wrong - the pictures are old after all...

Diorama

2011-08-01T21:04:00.001+10:00

I joined the N Gauge Forum over the weekend (it is here if you haven't found it) and found my way to a diorama challenge (here). Now my local model railway club has as one of its sections in its Annual Model Making Competition a Diorama section which is limited in size (which tends to cause issues for 7mm modellers who can't get anything in and for some 2mm modellers who think they should fill the space, although I have it on good authority it is a maximum size limit, not a minimum one) and which for a variety of reasons isn't frequently contested. I had a go a couple of years ago and along with the other entry was fouled out by the 7mm modeller judge (both entries being N and he didn't like them apparently!). Since I am banned from 3 sections this year (on account of winning them last year - see here for details - I thought I might as well kill two birds with one stone and use the same entry for both.

I came home from work early today owing to a massive headache - not sure if it is what my daughter has been home from school for 2 days with or something else - but after a siesta and some drugs (caffeine mostly!) I found myself a 4x6 photo frame and nicked the bit of hardboard which was in it (something to replace later no doubt!) and made a start. The photos were all taken today and show progress.

Because I don't like straight lines, I put my track across the board on the angle. The sleepers are actually 2mm ones which I got from the bloke who I call "The Dealer" as he was the one who sent me my first 2mm "hit"

My preferred method of putting down these types of sleepers is to use Amity's wide double sided tape. This then means, with some thin DS tape next to the sleepers ballasting is simple. The surrounding dirt is washed out sand from a road graded down to get it as fine as possible on neat PVA glue.

Leaving space for the chosen building (my scratch built cattle dock - see here and here for the more interesting parts of the story) the green was added after some Woodland Scenic brown. I left the ruts from the cattle lorries backing up to the dock visible - not sure if this would be true in the UK but certainly would be here - assuming the grass was that green!

Cattle dock in place - it isn't fully glued down, just a little bit so it doesn't fall off. It is, after all, destined for Swallow's End (which will progress, dear reader, when I sus the TOUs!)

Rails added, along with the fence and some future customers of the facilities watching over the fence. Still to do some weathering of the track - I don't think it would have stayed that clean for long after building and I don't know it would have been replaced to such a neat standard either! There is still some things to do on the dock itself - tap, water trough etc and I am considering a light. Either way, quite pleased with the afternoons effort.

NGS Kit 17a Cartic 4 - Part III

2011-07-25T20:34:00.000+10:00

Having had a couple of late nights watching Cadel Evans go around France on a bike (and didn't he do well in the end?) I had plenty of time to do something about painting the Cartic set.

Getting hold of primer (well, my preferred brand) out here is impossible as none of the hardware stores carry the brand. Fortunately, I found a tin down stairs which I must have brought up from Brisbane at some stage so progress was made.

Spray primer - check. Spray with local dark blue as an undercoat - check. Wait patiently for it all to dry properly (in winter, out here...) - hmmmm. I did eventually get to the point where I could resume painting without wrecking anything. Brush Precision Rail Blue on sides. Find I don't have Rail Grey and sub-Freight Grey (1948-1964) instead figuring that the pics Paul Bartlett has uploaded of these to his web which I will use for weathering inspiration will mean that the exact shade of grey is moot. White chains, ladders and brake wheels. Axle boxes yellow with red stripes. Buffer beams black - instructions found after the event say GW Chocolate... Again, I don't think it will matter much when weathered.

Photos below. Sorry for the iffy quality. Taking pictures of white proved to be a little bit interesting this evening so I will have to have a fiddle. All that is left is to wait for the NGS Transfer Officer to finish of said transfers and get a set - then weather the whole thing. I would love it if Oxford Diecast produced some Ford Cortinas but until this happens (and not being a car buff) I guess they will run empty.

Cartic Video

2011-07-21T17:21:00.001+10:00

For those who were interested to see it in action, here is the model running behind my blue Cl 14. No progress on painting or what not as yet - hopefully futher work at the weekend.

NGS Kit 17a Cartic 4 - Part II

2011-07-19T19:51:00.000+10:00

Progress has been made with the Cartic in as much as all the nickle silver detail bits have been added along with hooks on the buffer beams left over from 2mm chassis kits. I had attempted to fit the treads but have since discovered that trying to solder Stainless Steel to brass doesn't work! I will glue these in after painting I think.

The photo above shows one of the joins between the inners and outers (I think - might even be between the two inners to be honest - I don't remember!) The design of the ladder makes it very easy to have it sitting out away from the body side.

The buffer beam detail - I put the hand brakes on bits of 0.3mm wire and then drilled holes so these stand out from the sides, just like the ladder. The ladder at these ends is longer than the other ladders - pay attention... No, I didn't initially.

Unfortunately the photo I took of the whole unit doesn't really work on this blog - to skinny owing to the way in which it is positioned.

Amity suggested I should video the set going round the Kato test track and post it - if you are keen to see it in action, drop me a line at sithlord75@bigpond.com and I'll see what I can do.

NGS Kit 17a Cartic 4 - Part I

2011-07-16T13:36:00.000+10:00

For some time, I have eyed off the Cartic 4 kit from the NGS as being one of those kind of vehicles which would be interesting to have. It was going to be a Rule 1 kit until 18 months ago when I decided to add the BR Blue era to my list of interests - a bit of research showed that a train of Cartics would be acceptable in this period and so it moved up the list from Rule 1 to "needed" (for a given value of needed as my wife says!).

The NGS advises that this kit is advanced (the website also says it comes with decals but mine didn't - I will have to chase this up but I may have older stock! No matter as I will be getting at least 2 more) but I think, so far, that it would be a good introduction for someone who is comfortable with building plastic to move into brass - from my experience, it is shake the box, follow the instructions and voilà.

Photo 1 shows progress at the end of the first evening. The plastic bases had been taken from the box the kit comes in, cleaned up and glued together. I found that by putting them out in order, I avoided gluing the wrong bits to the wrong bits. Next was putting the bits in for the articulation. The loops can be shortened as desired for closer coupling - I shortened mine to run around the Kato 315mm radius set track curves as this is the tightest my layout curves will be. Apologies for the ruler being upside down, but it does give an indication of how long the unit is when completed.

This photo shows the first of the inner units folded up and in the jigs ready to solder. The instructions say if you do it properly then you can move it around without if coming apart. I must have done it correctly because that is what I found. Taking the time to make sure the top deck is a drop-in to the locating channels on the side is the best approach - just like it says on the page. I soldered mine together but using supa-glue to holding then epoxy to put it all together is certainly an option.

The two inners done - this was done on the second evening of progress and took around half an hour. The second was certainly faster than the first and by the time I started on the outer units, I had dispensed with the jigs. Once I had the two inners done, I checked to make sure they were still clearing on the Kato oval.

The end of the second evening. The unit is basically complete as all which is left to do is add the rails and other nickle silver detailing parts, then paint (Rail Blue in my case) and source some transfers.

Friday Night Update - 15 July

2011-07-15T23:24:00.000+10:00

I have had a busy couple of evenings. Firstly UFO wise 6 HAA hoppers have been transferred having been backdated from sectorisation yellow to BR bauxite. While the number panels don't match the RTR ones, I am not too worried owing to the perils of NVD and the fact that the complete train is 21 vehicles which I suspect needs a bit of variation. These are the Farish HAAs, not the Peco nor Minitrix.

I have also made a start on three 10' wheel base brake vans as I discovered sometime ago that I don't have anywhere near enough brake vans. I always thought half a dozen would do, but by the time I make up a couple of shunt trains, two block coal trains for the St Alban's Gas Works there isn't much left over so a few more are now in the pipe line. I suspect it may end up being "you can't have enough brake vans" but time will tell.

Finally, a busy evening with the glue and solder has seen significant progress made on my Cartic4 from the NGS. Pics and its own entry will be up over the weekend. I have been very surprised at how easy the kit actually is. Either I have developed my skills to a greater point than I think or the kit is genuinely easy provided you take your time - I suspect the later and all credit to the designer whoever it was.

UFOs

2011-07-12T20:03:00.001+10:00

Another episode of UFO sightings tonight.

As mentioned, I got a package of stuff from the NGS shop before their annual holiday and it contained a number of packets of transfers - one being MMT593 for Catfish, Dogfish and Mermaids. I had obtained from various sources 7 Dapol Dogfish which I have painted black so they all match (this being the easiest colour to do so with and thus making them useful for most of my eras). Naturally those repainted had no numbers and those which I didn't need to paint had the same numbers (yes, I know there were a number of options but I didn't end up with a variety of black ones) so to make things simple I removed the numbers from the 3 black ones as well thereby meaning I had to transfer all 7. I had a look at Paul Bartlett's site as a means of checking where to put things as the two books I have with Dogfish in them have them in Dutch so not helpful. As expected, there were a couple of useful shots there and so on with the project.

To put 42 transfers on takes a bit over an hour I discovered - now all I need to do is a "bit" of weathering, make up some loads and job done. In the meantime, I have replaced the Rapidos with short and medium shank Unimates from Red Caboose (sadly, these no longer appear to be available - very handy for close coupling fixed rakes on non-NEM stock) which makes the Dogfish handed. The end wagons still have a Rapido fitted at the outer end to enable any brake van or loco to haul them. I suspect they will most often be seen with an 08 (either Blue or Black when the Black one becomes available) and a Shark. As it stands the control wheels are all at the same ends of the wagon - I might change a pair around for varieties sake.

Sealion

2011-07-08T15:08:00.000+10:00

About a week ago, a parcel arrived from the NGS Shop which contained one of their NGK004 Sealion brass kits. I had purchased one about a year ago but had managed to turn it into a learning experience rather than a model - I discovered that my then soldering kit wasn't up to something like this but was more suited to wiring control panels and the like. Since the 1st kit, I have obtained the DSE temperature controlled iron and built a few more etched kits so I revisited the scene of one of my heroic failures and had a second go. Result above.

I am now in the position of trying to work out how to best fit the bogies. The kit was designed with, I think, Micro Trains bogies in mind (as these were what you could get) but now the NGS has their own bogies and these were included. A dummy run suggests that the ladders or hopper are going to get in the road so not sure if I did something wrong yet. More to come.

Trees - Part III

2011-07-05T16:46:00.000+10:00

I have managed to find time (with grateful thanks to Amity!) to get the tree finished. At the end of the last episode, the tree had had the first coat of brown No More Gaps. Since then, a second was applied and this gave a better finish as it covered the wire a bit more and was able to take some brush strokes to help simulate the bark effect. So what do you do next? Paint the tree of course!

The photo above shows some of Amity's acrylics which I borrowed to work with. White, Burnt Umber, Burnt Sienna, Black and Raw Umber. These were mixed around to give various shades and then applied to the tree frame. Finally I dry brushed some moss green on what will be the northern side of the tree, just to see how it looked.

Above we have the painted tree. In the bright winter sunshine of Outback Queensland, the wires are still noticeable but I was more interested in covering them up on the main trunk. Not sure if it is as good as I could have done it, but too late now as the tree is finished! The green tinge is just noticeable with bits of grey and different shades of brown showing.

I used Woodland Scenics FC183 Medium Green Clump Foliage for this tree. I prefer to use the Heki mats but I don't have any here in Longreach and getting some would take a bit too long and I am keen to get this project finished. The bag is one I have had for some time, so I will use it up on Swallow's End - although there may be a couple of Heki trees on the layout by the time it is finished.

The finished tree in all its glory. Must be High Summer judging by the amount of foliage! I used a spray adhesive and piled it on, waited half an hour, shook the tree (so any loose bits fell off) and repeated until I was happy with the coverage.

Making a tree is a time consuming process and it could be argued that, unless you are modelling a feature tree to match a photograph of your chosen prototype, not worth the hassle. However, since I had the materials at hand, except the No More Gaps (which was a fiver I think - and will make quite a lot of trees assuming it doesn't go off in the tube while it is waiting!) all it really cost is time - and it is one way of filling in an evening or 3 and still doing some modelling.

Trees - Part II

2011-07-01T21:47:00.000+10:00

My parents have been visiting Longreach this week for Darling Daughter's 5th Birthday so railways have been interrupted, despite being on half year school holidays. Nevertheless, I have managed to get a few hours in here and there and progress has slowly been made on a couple of projects.

One of these projects has been the tree to show Amity how to do it. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of the step between the last picture of Part I and the first of this series but basically you keep twisting the wire down into smaller and smaller branches and then solder them all to provide a degree of stiffness. I had originally thought about adding some lower branches but in the end left them off.

The first picture of this series shows the finished tree having been washed to get rid of the flux residue (water as hot as you can stand it, soap and an old tooth brush) and then painted with some grey etch primer to give the next step something to key to.

The next step varies from person to person. My preferred method is to use the product shown in the above. Not sure what the UK/US or other places product is. It is a water clean up, flexible filler which usually comes in white, but I discovered about 15 years ago, also comes in brown making it a bit more of an ideal base. As it is flexible, I don't solder the branches solid as I am then able to make adjustments depending on the final location of the tree - I don't make trees to fit places to order, I make trees as something to do and then use them on layouts so the tree has to be made to fit!

The last photo this time round shows the first coat of filler applied. It does a good job of filling in the wires and smoothing out some of the more un-typical lumps and bumps of the branches and trunk. Depending on how well it goes, it maybe enough at this point to then paint with artists acrylics or oils depending on preference. This one will get a second go of filler before that step. The filler dries darker than this - I will try and remember to take a picture of the dry before I start with the painting!

Monday Update

2011-06-27T20:36:00.000+10:00

That horrible thing which gets in the road of hobbies took over more than I expected last week so progress on the tree has only moved one more step from where I left it - although having washed it this evening to get rid of the surplus flux I am hoping to get the next step done this evening when it dries and then further steps tomorrow (school holidays here in Queensland and there should be a couple of hour window in the morning).

In other news, a bag arrived from the NGS Shop today with packets of transfers, N'spirations 3 and 4, their first Ready To Plonk Building and a brass etch for a ballast hopper. Still to come is the original version of the Cartic4 so this will keep me out of mischief I am sure.

Thanks to those readers who have recently gotten touch via email about Stroudley coaches and the 48. I know Blogger isn't the easiest thing to communicate via so please don't hesitate to email me at sithlord75@bigpond.com if you would like to offer advice or ask a question - or even to see extra photos.

NSWGR Class 48

2011-06-21T20:27:00.000+10:00

Long time readers may not be surprised to discover something out of left field has joined the stable of locomotives - and shortly will be joined by some stock and, inevitably will need a layout to run on - as this seems to happen from time to time (a LNER liveried B1 being a recent example...). Today the divergence came from even further afield than normal.

I was browsing eBay (as you do - never know what you might find there) and came across a NSW Class 48. Now being Australian, any RTR Australian N Scale stuff is of interest and this was no exception as I have long harboured a dream to build a "typical" Australian layout and sit back and watch the trains go by. My family used to drive to Melbourne (taking the train was done once but it was too long and possibly too expensive - this was the 1980s so I don't know why the hire car was always the option) and one of the highlights was racing the Intercapital Daylight Express, usually around Wagga Wagga or Junee. Indeed other highlights of the trip would be the trip into Spencer Street Station to have a look at the Southern Aurora and Spirit of Progress trains either getting ready to depart for Sydney or arriving from there.

So there has been a little list for a while now of locos which I would like to have and the 48 Class has been on it. Further investigation revealed that the model in question was produced by Gopher Models - owned and operated by one Phil Badger. Now UK readers will be familiar with this name as he is one of the triumvirate running Ixion - those of the GWR Manor. Phil's pedigree as an Australian modeller is first class and I had been speaking to him earlier in the year and he had mentioned he was getting some 48s produced in China and obviously these were now available.

Contact with the seller on eBay confirmed that I had the option of whatever number I wanted, along with livery. The 48 is a long lived class and had 165 members which appeared in 7 liveries at least while operating in NSW. The South Australian Railways also purchased some identical locos from Alco - their 830 class - so there were lots around and still are according to what I found via Google.

I got mine with a TCS Z2 chip already fitted and have been playing with it this evening. Running is silky smooth - particularly after I cleaned the track!!! The lights are a bit bright for the casing so I will have to work out how to dim them and the loco on the whole is a bit too ex-works for what I remember the class being like in Brisbane and in the Riverina of NSW. A quick going over with the steel rule v the published dimensions of the class reveals no hassles although I had a moment when I started until I remembered to change the 148 to 160 in the spreadsheet I use for such things!

Now to work out what wagons I should be getting to put behind it...

Trees - Part I

2011-06-18T11:58:00.000+10:00

Amity has been asking me for a while to show her how to make trees. I suggested that we could make a tree each but she felt it would be better to watch how I did it first rather than do it in tandem. So last night I made a start and she took photos of the process. It isn't a particularly original process but maybe of use to some to see it in pictures, rather than merely a description.

The first thing you need to do is gather the materials... the flavour of the chocolate is up to the builder! The source of the copper wire is an old multi core mains flex which I acquired sometime in the 1990s.

Cut off enough wire of a suitable length to place around a nail - in this case I used three bunches to surround a 2mm nail.

I found I needed plenty of flux - fortunately I use a flux paste so it doesn't run everywhere. I suspect with cleaner wire, less flux would be necessary but there was a lot of oxidisation as the wire had been exposed for over 10 years to the elements.

Remember that copper conducts heat very well... I have a temperature controlled iron which I had set on 370C as this tends to work the best for me. I probably could have gone higher at the base of the tree as the amount of copper was acting as a bit of a heat sink and the nail definitely was.

Once you have the nail in, place the tree in a block of wood with a suitable sized hole drilled in it. From here you can start forming the tree. The 3 bunches are quite easy to see here.

Once you have got the main trunk to a suitable height (in this case 15-18 scale feet in 2mm scale) you can start forming the branches. As you will see in Part II (hopefully Monday - work is going to get in the road this weekend) I will add some lower branches later.

The main branches are formed by dividing the bunches. As I had three, it was easiest to have three main branches of the tree.

The main branches get divided down. Depending on the location of the tree these sub-branches may be lop-sided. As this one will probably be a stand alone tree, the growth is fairly even but a little bit more on the southern side (where it is nominally the sunniest - but this is England after all so sunny is arbitrary!)

So the end of a couple of hours (with distractions) sees the tree with three main limbs and 9 sub-limbs. From here it is a case of divide and spread out - which will happen in Part II.

LNWR Signal Box - part 3

2011-06-11T23:37:00.000+10:00

I got inspired to do some more on the LNWR signal box this Queen's Birthday Long Weekend as I thought doing something about the interior would be a good idea.

The first thing I did was consult the drawing below which details what each of the 25 levers in the signal box at St Alban's Abbey controlled.

So having worked out what each lever did, I then looked at the information on the web to find out what colour each lever would be. Signals - Red, Points - Black, the Gong - Green, Locking - either Blue or Blue/Brown and the spare No 9 lever white.

Next I looked at what I had already done in relation to which levers were "off" and discovered that both the LNWR Outer home and the GNR Platform Home were "off". Now while Superman would do it, I suspect the average signalman couldn't unless something had gone wrong with the interlocking!!! Lever 9 was also "off" which, while this may have been possible, was very unlikely. Therefore I spent sometime today sorting out the levers so that now, 1, 2, 11, 12 and 13 are all "off" which, I think, means a train signaled from Watford Junction down the LNWR branch and into the yard.

This is what it looks like with the first go with paint. There is a bit more to do having taken the photo on the levers and then the floor needs sorting as does the desk.

As you can see, I have found a 1982 20p coin which I will use to give some idea of size. If Australian readers are wondering, it is between a 5c and 10c coin. Can't help other nationalities - those living over the dutch bro can work it out easily enough but I am afraid those living in North America, Europe or Asia are on their own.

Station Furniture

2011-06-07T20:53:00.000+10:00

The above is some furniture which I have been doing at odd times - mostly if all I could find was 15 minutes to half an hour. The two hand carts and long seat are destined for St Alban's Abbey as is the single seat although the latter is for the signalman to sit in between trains. The seat comes from the LNWR signal box etch previously mentioned. There is a second seat to do, and the table has already been put in place on the floor of the 'box otherwise it would have been in the picture too. The other bits are from Shirescenes (I think) via the NGS Shop - LNWR seats (of which I have another 5) and GNR luggage trolleys (only the 2 in the photo). As St Alban's Abbey was a LNWR/GNR joint station, it seemed reasonable to populate it with bits from both, although as it was principally LNWR operated and built, there will be a definite bias in the furniture - hence the seats. I would imaging the GNR would have, at some point, brought in the luggage trolleys, just so they could put bags on to announce to the world whose train the owners were using!

They are delightful little things to do - I had a mind of putting a coin in but not having anything English, and putting an Australian one wouldn't really help the majority of the readers, it will have to wait - my parents are coming out for DD1's birthday in a couple of weeks so I will get Dad to bring me a 20p coin and re-shoot then as some reference to size I think would be handy!

UFOs

2011-06-05T12:32:00.000+10:00

When the Farish Mk 1 Pullman's came out I, like I suspect a few did, got enough for a prototypical rake. At the time, Farish didn't have a record of bringing out different numbers so I assumed, wrongly as it turned out, that the ones available were it. I wasn't worried as I know the NGS had transfers which would fix this - MMT402 if you are interested - and I duly purchased same. Now as it happens, Farish did the B numbers which had new names and numbers so had I been patient I would not have needed to do what I did last night (having finally gotten a roundtuit!). The picture above shows the newly done side of Magpie (which was going to be Swift as this fitted a bit better but the first Swift was cracked and I lost the T before I realised - so Magpie was picked as being Australian!) and Car No 333. Magpie was Eagle and 333 was 332 so the changes on the Second Class Car were very minimal.

I painted over the bits I didn't want with Precision Paints Pullman Umber - with a small brush and a bit of care, no damage was done to the lining around the words so this is the original printing. As it happens, the E in Magpie seems to be missing a bit of the lower stem, but it isn't obvious on the coach and the other side is fine so I will just have to watch which way round it runs. Good side to the Punters obviously.

This effort was about 15 mins work - and a couple of hours making sure the paint was dry! If anyone is looking to do something similar, I have the rest of the transfers, free to a good home. Just get in touch. All there except for Magpie, a couple of 3s and one Swift. One of the borders was used to fix up a worn line on the other side of 333.

Wagon Assortment

2011-05-30T21:46:00.002+10:00

Busy end of the month - tonight I got around to putting some paint on the above wagons. The one in the middle is my first scratch built wagon body (and got painted Midland Dark Grey to help hide the blemishes!). The others are assorted 2mm kits with all of them running on 2mm chassis. Paint colours vary - along with the aforesaid MR Dark grey, there is LMS grey, GWR grey, LBSCR grey and Humbrol light grey! If I can work out which is which (the MR and GWR aside) then I will put appropriate letters on them - not sure if LBSCR wagons ended up on the W&U or at St Alban's Abbey but when in doubt, apply Rule 1!

Photo update - 28 May 2011

2011-05-28T21:57:00.001+10:00

Not the greatest photo - sorry about that - but it shows the progress made today on the LBSCR set. As mentioned yesterday, I have painted these in Pullman Umber. The information I have suggests this would be right for the period from 1903-1911. Precision Paints do a Marsh Umber but as I think this is for the locos rather than coaches, and I only need it for these four coaches, I am not going to worry about tracking it down. I was trying to determine if the brake ends should be painted vermilion (NGS members will be able to see Gareth's set in J02/11 has vermilion ends) at this time - the information I have says the practice of doing so to goods brakes was discontinued and they were painted all over grey so I feel it reasonable to assume the same with coaches so that is what I have done.

They do need a third and fourth coat to get them up to the same finish as the sides.

Now to put in some glazing, try to determine if seats are really necessary (well obviously but how detailed) and work out what sort of vents I should have on the roofs - having first decided if the coaches would have had the new fangled electric light by 1905 - which is when the "Improved Engine Green" started to vanish.

LBSCR Stroudley Set

2011-05-27T23:27:00.000+10:00

The N Gauge Society AGM and Annual Model Making Competition is on this weekend - unfortunately not close by (St Ives being... well a long way off from here). As I can't attend, and being unwilling to trust my models to the loving care of Australia Post and Royal Mail (thereby making the trophies safe from coming Down Under :-)) I took inspiration from the latest Journal which had a picture of Gareth Colliers' Gold Award winning entry in the Coaching Stock and did some more work on my set of Etched Pixels coaches, destined to either trundle around behind Amity's "Boxhill" or my "Stepney".

As the picture above shows, at this point all that has happened is the bodies have all been finished (one of the Brake Thirds was done some months ago) and the roofs formed. Since this photo, the bodies have been primed. At this point I had a closer look at Gareth's models and noticed he had added door handles and steps on the end of the brake coaches. I guess this is why he wins - the attention to detail. I thought about removing the primer, drilling the holes and scrounging through the spare box from steps and bending wire for the handles and decided that I could live with the lack of detail - Rule 1 and all that (remembering that LBSCR isn't part of my plethora of interests!).

So the next thing is painting then sorting out chassis. Painting I have decided to go with the later Umber rather than the original Mahogany. In the absence of anything better, I am going to use the Pullman version (which I have) rather than get something specific as there is only the four coaches, although the rake may be extended or even doubled since we have two locos. This leaves the chassis. As designed, they are supposed to go on modified Peco 15' ones. The trouble is, this involves a lot of cutting and what not so I thought 2mm FSA etches - but which ones? At the time they went to Umber, I think they were braked and had electric lights - which throws up the question of vents on the roofs - but I can't find a useful diagram. If you can offer any insights - sithlord75@bigpond.com would be a place to send those insights!

Layout Part X - dirt

2011-05-26T22:09:00.000+10:00

As promised on a number of occasions, here are a couple of pictures of landscaping progress. The first is of the cattle dock area and to date, the ballast has been done on the track to the dock but not yet cleaned up - you can see the specks of ballast on the rails in the larger picture. The "dirt" (Woodland Scenics B71 for those playing at home) has made it to the wall of the fodder store, but not around yet. As you can see at the top left of the fodder store there is a bit of brown. This is damage to the ply when I removed the first attempt and I haven't gotten around to filling it yet - perhaps tomorrow and then earth works can continue. The white patch is where the points (turnouts) have to go - haven't sorted all the bits for the TOU (the best practice keeps changing!) so they haven't been fitted yet. The photo actually looks better than real life as the dirt is a bit patchy. It has been put down onto neat PVA glue and looks much better with a second coat - some has been but most hasn't. A job for later.

The second picture shows the coal merchants area. Very clean! I have some real coal in Brisbane which I am going to use here so, while further progress is possible with what I have in Longreach, it will have to keep until September when I can get better stuff. The white patches are the crossover at the buffer end of the station - refer back to January for a track plan!

I had intended an over all shot, but the lighting didn't work. These photos were taken on a 1sec exposure with a tri-pod and were the best of a 12 shot selection!

Photo update - 24 May 2011

2011-05-24T21:29:00.000+10:00

Only one photo of the 6 UFOs which are now FOs. The pair at the back are Gresley D113 BGs - the blue one from the NGS kit and the red using Ultima sides on a Minitrix donor coach - which needed some hacking to sort it. I had the sides for years and a damaged coach turned up one day on a second hand stall for a fiver (dollars, not quid) but it wasn't until I had built two NGS kits (the other is also red) that I got a roundtuit and then discovered it was a 113 as well... The bits of white are the Krytal Klear windows which I put in after finding the glazing in the 2 NGS kits didn't quite make it around 3 models!

The front row, from left to right, is my NGS Shark, now with a coupling - a staple glued under one of the ploughs which enables it to connect to anything with a Rapido - doesn't seem to like the Unimates some of my stuff has for closer coupling. The other end is waiting for a screwlink coupling and a lamp but other than that it is finished. The Dogfish which is next has a Unimate at one end and a Rapido at the other. The rest of the rake has Unimates (short one end, medium the other so they have to be put down the "right" way). It is in this photo due to having a load fitted. Not convinced as to the realism of the shape but the colour is OK. I will see how I go living with it before I do the other 6. Third from the left is the Farish PoW Horsebox now on a Peco chassis - I haven't put lifting arms on it yet but they are around here somewhere. Last is the fixed Farish cattle wagon - one of the bars had gone missing so this was replaced with some 0.2mm nickle silver wire I had left over from the cattle dock.

Not much really but a couple of hours work and 6 more things of the UFO pile so that is something.

UFOs - a return

2011-05-20T21:58:00.000+10:00

I managed to lose the mojo at the start of May due mostly to work pressures so I have returned to the methodology which I find works best to get the juices following - the UFO box.

Some of what I have been working on, I was working on last year about this time so clearly not enough progress there! However, stuff has been done - a Farish Private Horsebox which was acquired via eBay has been put on a Peco chassis with a view to using it as a shunting wagon - I use the Peco arms and home-made electromagnets on St Alban's Abbey. I have also replaced the missing bar on a Bachfar BR Cattle wagon and done some work on fixing the roof for the Minitrix/Ultima D113 Gresley BG conversion. Lastly there is putting transfers on and finishing off the NGS D113 BG in all over Blue.

No photos - sorry - and I won't get any done tomorrow as I am off to Brisbane to be godfather to a mate's daughter on Sunday. Hopefully a photo update on Sunday including the current look of Swallow's End.

GWR P19 - Part III

2011-05-15T21:11:00.001+10:00

The long term readers will remember in August last year (my doesn't time fly) I obtained via the good offices of Richard the NGS Journal Ed some GWR P19 wagons, from which the Grampus has its roots. While waiting for glue to dry on the landscape attempts on Swallow's End I thought it would be handy to have loads for these wagons.

My first thought was to use the Woodland Scenic Light Grey ballast I have been using on SE but I am thinking of putting that to use for loads for my 7 dogfish and so I have gone for used ballast - which means some finely sieved bedding sand which I have glued to some thick card (as this didn't warp, unlike the plastic I used for mk1). All up, very pleased with the afternoon's efforts - which is more than can be said for the landscaping but progress is progressing on that front and I am hopeful of photos by the end of the week.

Next job however is to do a stock take and get ready for June - UFO/FO month Down Under.

Layout Part IX - Landscaping: a beginning.

2011-05-14T16:16:00.000+10:00

I mentioned in my last post a couple of weeks ago that I was hoping to make a start on putting the finished bits and pieces on the board - or at least landscaping around where they were going to go. Well one thing and other has delayed the update - Blogger going down over the last few days at awkward times if you live Down Under being one; my unhappiness with the initial results being A N Other.

The state of play currently is some of the land has been done, but needs some more work before I will be showing it off. Rest assured (because I know you are all lying awake wondering!) that progress is taking place, albeit slowly. And I thought constructing track was a slow process!

Fodder Store

2011-05-02T14:30:00.000+10:00

In doing the research (such as it was) for the cattle dock, I noticed that a lot of cattle docks (at least the majority of the few I found on the web and in my books) had a building near by which was described as a fodder store. These buildings tended to be reasonably small and windowless and, while there may have been caption errors, it made sense to me that there would be somewhere near to the dock to store at least straw or hay to be able to put down in the pen prior to the arrival of the beasts - or it they were going to be placed in the dock for a spell from travel.

Now while Swallow's End is not somewhere where a load of cattle would need to be taken off the train to be fed, breaking their journey, it was the fact that a terminus like Moreton Hampstead had such a building which prompted me to have a go.

Attempt 1 was built using some styrene chamfer board I purchased by accident (I was looking for v-grove and picked up the wrong thing). I painted it cream then weathered it reasonably heavily - assuming that it was either long out of use or long uncared for based on my 1960s time period. However, when it came to the roof, I decided that putting slates on was the wrong move. First of all, I am not sure that a slate roof would be held up too well by a chamfer board building (although I guess there is no reason why it wouldn't) and in any case, it was judged too Australian. So I will take the slate off and put corrugated iron on it and put it aside for a future Australian themed layout.

So back to the drawing/cutting board. This time I decided on a brick building and used the Scalescenes aged red brick as the covering of the styrene building - and getting a bit more confident with this scratch building game, put a hip roof on.

With management out this evening I will see about siting this on the layout and post a picture later - kids willing...

Cattle Dock Part VI

2011-04-23T21:29:00.000+10:00

So painted today and weathered tonight. Not particularly happy with the gates - slab timber ones for those curious - but not sure what to do about them. May revisit them if they bug me enough once the cattle dock is in place on Swallow's End. The cows in the pictures are just for show - I am planning on leaving it empty as with green diesels and 108s operating, the likelihood of cattle being shipped is slim I think. Certainly not a regular occurrence.

All up it has taken about 40 hours to get this far - and 7 drill bits! The annoying thing about the drill bits is the first one got me through 10 of the 26 posts - and bit number 6 broke with only 3 holes to go. Still, that I guess is the price you pay for a) working late at night when you should be in bed and b) hurrying too much and applying too much downward force on your pin vice.

Next project is to do something about the fodder and straw store which seems to have been a feature next to a lot of cattle docks.

Land side

Rail side

Cattle Dock Part V

2011-04-21T23:41:00.000+10:00

A little while back I posted that replacement drill bits had arrived so work could continue on the cattle dock. As it turned out, these (at 0.2mm) were a bit too fine for use with a pin vice so I had another look at the collection of fine drill bits I have from Shesto Tools (who very kindly offer a discount to 2mm Members - have a look in the Members only section (or join up to get access to this part of the website) for the code) and found that while some were a little larger than I needed (i.e. 0.35mm for a 0.2mm bit of wire) they would at least allow work to continue while the real replacements came from the original supplier.

After a couple of days on and off at it (and while on school holidays for a week leading up to Easter) I have finally finished with the drilling of the little holes and wired it all up. The gates still haven't been done but I have decided to fabricate them out of off cuts of etch and then put them over the wires to allow for the continuation and strength of it all.

The photos below were taken tonight - poor light at 11.15pm so I apologise for the quality - before I had given it all a clean. That will happen, along with some painting and the gates, over the weekend - with the various holidays for Easter and ANZAC Day, I don't have to be back at work until Wednesday and SWMBOs job list is pretty much knocked over. So better photos probably Saturday and painting and whatnot on Sunday/Monday. Then there is the fodder shed to build...

PS - remember to have a look at Missy's effort on the RMWeb showcase here as this is what inspired it. Mine isn't as neat (nor as grotty yet) but for a first up scratch build (ok, I didn't scribe the stone work nor the flags) I am pretty happy with myself!

Birthday loot

2011-04-21T12:27:00.000+10:00

I officially started down the other side of the hill today (assuming three score and ten), turning 36. The loot included the latest collection of PoWs from the Darling Daughters (now out to 24 multi coloured wagons in the train which they think is very impressive) and, courtesy of DD1 wanting to "give daddy a steam engine" 61139 has joined the stud. Mind you, since SWMBO thinks presents should be surprises, I had to provide the DD's with a choice - 61139, the black Std 3 tank or the Peco 2251 in GWR green were their options which the B1 winning the vote. Currently doing laps of the Kato track running in (and commencing to wear out!) and going very nicely. Thanks girls (and Amity for organising - how many other wives have their own login at Hatton's I wonder??).

Weathering Wagons

2011-04-15T22:09:00.000+10:00

A week or so back I posted about almost finishing two W&U trains and mentioned that the 16 tonners for The Last Tram needed to be weathered. Tonight they were. The one of the right is to demonstrate the before look (obviously!) while the one on the left was done using my preferred Tamiya stuff - in this case the B pack. I am pretty sure they were empty on the last run from Upwell to Wisbech and as such the interior probably needs a bit more - presently it can best be described as grime but I am thinking of doing some shiny bits by dry brushing some silver then weathering again - coal having scrapped the bottom/sides as it was emptied for the last time. Good idea or not? Would love to hear some thoughts either as comments or via email.

Friday Night Update - 8 April

2011-04-08T22:49:00.001+10:00

Work has got in the road of trains this week but I have managed to get a bit more painting done on the LNWR signal box. The photos below were taken to enlarge and see where bits needed tweaking but I thought I would share them just for fun. Still haven't done the interior.

Wisbech & Upwell Progress

2011-04-03T20:45:00.001+10:00

I seem to have managed to get some mojo going since Thursday. I did manage to get the outstanding chassis for the Fruit Van's built and this, together with finding some Humbrol 21 still in working order (gloss black rather than matt - but some matt varnish will soon fix that) I got stuck in with painting and, today while watching Amity's team get a trashing in Melbourne, I got the skirts on D2201. I even managed to get some photos so...

The Last Tram. The W&U closed with the last train on Friday 20 May 1966. This consisted of D2201, three 16t mineral wagons, and for reasons I don't understand a SR brake van. My unfinished rendition is seen above. D2201 needs the 01, the brake van needs transfers (and some painting to be finished along with vents and a chimney) and the whole needs couplings and weathering - especially those wagons!!!!

The Fruit Van train. Currently it also needs couplings and weathering. The brake van is a Minitrix one (standing in for the unbuilt LNER Toad E kit I have in the to do box) and the 04 at the front is in fact Mavis rather than 11102 - which is awaiting the fitting of skirts and what not. This may happen later this evening as it isn't a particularly hard chore.

So a little over a year since the W&U etches arrived from Darkest Essex two trains of the 6 Amity and I plan on modelling are almost complete, ironically neither requiring any of the etches. However stay tuned...

Thursday night workshop

2011-03-31T21:57:00.000+10:00

Did some more on Swallow's End tonight - the area around the cattle dock has had some landscaping done (and the drills bits have turned up so progress should be restarting over the weekend in good light - too overcast and the light in the lounge is good provided small children aren't sleeping there!) along with some more painting to the Signal Box. I seem to be in a bit of a rut modelling wise - too many projects on the go possibly dividing my attention and I can't really focus. Hence the short up dates of late. They are trying to jump start the mojo and the enthusiasm which has taken a beating from my being tired from that horrible four letter word! Anyway - Friday night football tomorrow so hopefully another chassis off the production line (or maybe two...) for the fruit van train for the W&U.

Photo update - 30 March 2011

2011-03-30T22:42:00.000+10:00

As promised - albeit a little late - some photos of progress. First up the SR Brake. Very pleased with the kit build - not entirely sure the paint job is up the to standard. I will see how it goes - at least stripping Nickel Silver isn't as worrying as stripping plastic!

Second - the LNWR signal box. I haven't including the shot of what I am wanting to copy - and there is a bit of a way to go. I am quite pleased with painting progress on this and I am hoping to have it finished (and possibly a little diorama for it) by Easter. Interior is merely primed - I am going to fit it separately as I want to paint the levers to match what the leaver diagram for St Alban's Abbey was even though the box isn't accurate.

OMWB

2011-03-28T20:12:00.000+10:00

Football season has started again Down Under and I spent a good few hours watching games from Round 1 this past weekend. I also made a start on some painting projects which have been waiting for the cooler months (although this is a relative term here in Outback Australia). I managed to get primed the LNWR signal box mentioned some months back and the SR Brake Van of more recent recounting. I also made a start on painting the top coats - although much to my despair the tinlet of matt black was dead and unable to be resuscitated and the only shop in town with anything like hobby type stuff, while carrying some of my preferred Humbrol paints, is presently out of No 33.

The signal box is being painted to be similar to the photo on the back cover of the Oakwood Press "The Watford to St Alban's Branch" and the brake van in BR Bauxite. Unfortunately there was no opportunity to take photos of same over the weekend and I was held up at work a bit later than normal this afternoon so none to show - stay tuned - hopefully tomorrow (when I am also hoping to have solved my matt black shortage!).

SR Dia 1579/1582 Brake Van - Update

2011-03-23T18:02:00.000+10:00

Current state of play. I have managed to get most of the van done and a rolling chassis. I still have to sort out the roof detail (the vents are easy but the chimney is proving a little bit of a problem as I don't have anything the right diameter in my bits box that I can see - but I am sure there is something. There is still the hand rails, then painting and the addition of three link coupling chains to the hooks. Other than that, mostly done. I am hoping to have it substantially finished by the end of the week along with D2201 and the mineral wagons, thus finishing the first train for the W&U plans - only 12 months after starting...

Cattle Dock Part IV

2011-03-19T23:57:00.000+10:00

Progress on the cattle dock has been slowed owing to breaking the last of the fine drill bits I was using for it. Annoyingly I had managed to get though half of the posts on 2 bits - one ended up blunt after a short time but the second soldiered on quite nicely. Then in the space of 5 holes, I broke it, and both the replacements! Not happy. Many naughty words.

So the state of play is I have gotten three more posts done from the last photo and I am one post away from having to make a decision about gates. Still haven't worked it out - but since the ordered replacement drill bits have been on the way from Hong Kong (although a .com.au shop... so a bit bemused!) since the 8th of March I am hoping to get back into it later this week.

The funny thing is I was looking though my Oakwood Press book on the W&U tonight and discovered the Upwell Cattle dock is very similar to what I have designed. So I guess it isn't as freelance as I thought!

SR Dia 1579/1582 Brake Van

2011-03-19T23:46:00.000+10:00

2mm members hopefully will recognise this - David Long advertised this kit in the most recent Magazine. It appears a van of this type is the end of the last train from Upwell to Wisbech on the 20 May 1966 so naturally, it was on my list!

Mine arrived early last week but I wasn't able to do much with it until I had printed the 18 pages of comprehensive instructions (or destructions - even DD1 calls them this, much to her mothers chagrin). Having printed and then had a quick look, the pages were put aside as my parents, sister and eldest niece arrived for the 2nd birthday of DD3 on Friday.

Given that Footy Season is just around the corner, and having waved our guests goodnight, I had another look with the view to making a start in front of the first game on Thursday coming. However, I decided that things appeared pretty straight forward, so a start was made last night, and further progress in front of the Pakistan v Australia pool game in the longest World Cup of all time.

The photo at the top shows what I started with. The one at the bottom is were I am now - which is at the bottom of Page 9 not having started on the underframe assembly. David mentions that he had trouble putting the verandah doors on - I had no dramas but I use a paste flux and tend to find this will help things stick to where you want it. I suspect solder paste would do something similar. As I thought on the second read through, it is straight forward, nothing has needed fettling - in fact the only "issue" to date was all my fault - I folded a 180d fold the wrong way and didn't realise until I had soldered it down... naughty words and a 15 minute delay and everything was back where it should be. Hopefully some of the chassis tomorrow.

Cattle Dock Part III

2011-03-12T10:23:00.001+10:00

This week I have been plugging away drilling 5 holes per post. As I don't have my bench drill here in Longreach, this has been done using my pin vice and fingers! It takes around an hour to do the 5 holes - 0.3mm drill for a 0.2mm nickle silver wire. As you can see in the photo the holes haven't all lined up - I have been using a jig - but I suspect the lack of true verticalness in the drilling has played a part. There is still some tidying up and tweaking to do on this lot and I am hoping by the end of the weekend to have gotten around to the next corner - only 3 posts to go on this run!

I still haven't sorted the gates yet. I have thought of using thinned down Peco level crossing picket gates or using the Ratio cattle dock kit gates like Missy did. I have also thought of adapting some M&GN gates which David E sent me. Not sure - any suggestions would be appreciated!

So you want a fence post...

2011-03-04T19:10:00.000+10:00

How do you get one? In my case, I wanted 26 (subsequently revised to 24 but this is still in a state of flux) and, following the experiences of others, I settled on brass. I found a length of 1mm square section and worked out the dimensions by putting a model cow up next to it. This resulted in the height being settled at 5 feet (scaled down to 10mm) and a peg of 1.5mm below to fit to the model - but since the hole in the model are round, and the section is square, I was left with the "how do you fit a square peg in a round hole?" dilemma. Without a lathe, the answer is improvise.

Measure the length you require - I found the best way to mark it was to use the razor saw.

Two marks - one for the cut spot (left hand) and one for the location in the pin vice in the chuck (right hand)

Positioned and ready to cut. I found it easiest to cut in the pin vice rather than out.

Cut it to length

I found the emery nail file was the best way to turn it down.

Voila! Remember when you are looking at this, it is 12mm long...

So not the prettiest method - nor the most elegant - but it does the job. As I said in a much earlier post about my soldering kit, the pioneers didn't have a lot to work with and managed some brilliant models so there is no reason why we can't manage - at least it is a variable speed electric drill rather than trying to work out how to do it via pulley and rope!

Cattle Dock Part II

2011-03-01T21:22:00.000+10:00

I had a quick visit to Brisbane last weekend for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary celebrations. While there, I took the opportunity to get a few bits and pieces to continue on with some of my increasing number of UFOs (seems a bit like trams - none, then lots!). Amongst the UFOs I was wanting to get on with was the cattle dock for Swallow's End. With the design work done (thanks again Missy!) it was a matter of finding the bits to construct the fence.

While the Highclere one has 0.5mm square brass, I was unable to source this so settled for 1mm instead. 6 inches is quite a thick post, but cows are stroppy and bulls even more so, so I figure that while the original had 3 inch posts, my bulls are bigger and crankier and thus need bigger posts - at least that is the story. I have also managed to get some 0.2mm nickle silver wire which I will be drilling holes for to thread through the posts. Still haven't really worked out how I am going to do that with a minimum of swearing!

So far 10 of the 26 posts have been manufactured. The process involves cutting 12mm lengths off the longer length, sticking them into my small chuck which is in my drill which is clamped to my workbench and then "turning" a point using a file to stick the completed post into a 0.5mm hole drilled into the cattle dock. As I said, so far 10 done but the time is coming down with practice. I know it isn't as elegant as a lathe but I imagine it is just as quick (if not quicker) and works so it will do me.

Two pictures below with cow posed to give an idea of the progress. If Lisa wasn't asleep in the lounge with Amity watching TV, I would probably be doing more rather than writing this!! I will try and get organised enough to take some pictures of the step by step process - after all, one of the sub-purposes of this blog is to show people how I do it and to try and demystify the process.

Layout Part VIII - Coal Merchants

2011-02-24T22:51:00.000+10:00

As mentioned in the last post, I had planned on doing something about the coal merchants at Swallow's End last night but was foiled by the lack of suitable materials. This problem was solved today and, with mojo in full swing, I got stuck in tonight and did something about it. The pictures below tell the story...

The first is a general view looking from the buffer stop end towards the points showing the two merchants in relation to each other. The merchants are not yet named but there are two main families in Longreach - the Tanks and the Ballards - so I am thinking of naming the coal merchants after these families.

The first merchant the train comes to has staithes (which on doing research is actually the North East name for them but has been adopted by modellers who don't know any different cause they live on the other side of the planet!! I can't remember from my looking for pictures and reading what the rest of England calls them - and please don't mention the Scots... please) which are made from Evergreen plastic sheet. In this case I have scientifically measured them so each bin is the equivalent of a 9' sleeper in width and then staggered down with vertical timbers to make a suitable area to chuck the coal into.

The other merchant merely has a pair of concrete slabs. The theory goes they had one, got prosperous, and so laid a second to allow two wagons to be unloaded. This is the Scalescenes Concrete Ground (TX19) with a piece of manila folder under it. I have PVAd it to the baseboard and will scenic around it in due course. Biggest hassle I have is working out how to make realistic "heaps".

Bother...

2011-02-23T21:20:00.001+10:00

I had planned on doing something about my coal merchants this evening however when I went looking for my collection of Scale Scenes papers to do the concrete pad on which the purveyors of Black Diamonds will ply their trade, I discovered I don't have any. So I looked on the computer to further discover that I hadn't gotten around to purchasing the relevant sheet from the scratch builders section of the site. Bother. Since I will need to print the page at work, I will put the project back a day.

The second of the coal merchants (I found that somewhere like Grassington & Threshfield has about 8 merchants working from the yard so I thought 2 wasn't unreasonable) will have staithes. I have been considering how to build these. One option I thought of was to use surplus sleepers held together with short lengths of rail. I don't know if that would be used over there but I have seen retaining walls here which have been built of sleepers and short lengths used to give added strength. The alternative was to use some of the plastic card I have which I used to try my hand at wagon bodies. In any event, this didn't get off the ground either so looks like a busy night tomorrow as I will be away for the weekend in Brisbane - the plus of this being I will get to a shop which sells brass tubing and what not and I have a shopping list for TOUs and fences for cattle docks.

108 goes 2mm

2011-02-18T23:57:00.000+10:00

Thought I would post this pic - doesn't show the evenings work but...

The ordered 2mm drop in wheels arrived from Mr Shop 3 today - thanks Ray - and so I spent the evening sorting the 108. This involved me rushing in and putting all the wheel sets in, wiring the DCC controller to Swallow's End and... nothing much happening. CV's wouldn't read, all sorts of drama and so I put it all back to N and DC and put it on the kids Kato oval. Worked - after I cleaned wheels and so forth.

So then I put the chips back in and programmed it all to work on DCC in N and then went on an axle by axle plan to see if everything would work. It did. Most usefully with all axles changed to 2mm ones it still worked on the Kato oval so I now have a test track/running in loop for when I do the Class 24 - hopefully tomorrow. Then I guess I better get all the track sorted on Swallow's End and the traverser/fiddle yard built since I now will have locos/trains to run.

To make the night perfect, Essendon made it to the next round of the pre-season and won very big against Brisbane. Footy is back too!

Cattle Dock Part I

2011-02-15T21:36:00.001+10:00

Swallow's End, like a lot of small terminus stations I suspect, has a cattle dock. The problem I had was what to do about it. The Ratio one, while very nice, is a bit on the same old same old as it is one of the best kits around I feel. I have one on St Alban's Priory for example. The appeal of scratch building one was high but I lacked inspiration. Enter fellow 2mm Association member Julia "Missy" Adams. She constructed one for her layout "Highclere" - photos and discussion found here. I thought it particularly good and decided that if imitation was the sincerest form of flattery I should copy hers!

I have used some Ratio platform edging for the sides and scrap piece of the flag stones from the same supplier. To work out the height, I put a wagon on the layout where the cattle dock is going and used that! Effort shown at the bottom of this post. The ramp is at 1:4 - this is following the discussion on the 2mmVAG and talks with a couple of cattle producers here in Outback Queensland.

I haven't started on a fence - been mulling over what to do. Missy's is very good and I suspect I will do something similar for the robustness and uniqueness. I had thought of robbing the unopened Ratio kit Amity has in her UFO box but decided against it. There will only be one pen - the overall dimensions of the pad scale out to 5 yards x 7 but allowing for a couple of flags being on the loading side of the fence (the ruler side on in the photos) I suspect I will end up with something around the 28 sq yd area - which is enough for 10 head apparently allowing for movement. At any rate, the pen will hold what a wagon will hold and that is enough for this sleepy little back water.

Overall dimensions are 81mm x 30 x 10.

Ballasting

2011-02-11T21:52:00.000+10:00

Given that most people loath this chore - and it is something which, in the past, I have found difficult to get "right" - I thought I would share my technique which I have developed while ballasting Swallow's End. Regular readers will know I am deviating from my normal method with SE and ballasting before the rest of the scenery rather than after. The first efforts were done with Amity's help a couple of weeks ago and resulted in the ballast shown in the first picture.

This was done in what I would describe as my tried and true method. Ballast was put on dry and then teased into place with a brush, before being wetted then glued down with the good old PVA/water/detergent mix. Wait for it to dry then tidy up the bits which didn't work properly. The big "disappointment" (which it isn't really) is the lack of neatness in the edges. So what to do?

The main thing I was looking for was the neat edge, which while not especially common in the post 1950's era was still around at terminus stations on quiet branches up until the Beeching Axe fell, mostly because the staff had little to do but keep the place neat and tidy. My original plan had called for the track to be laid on double sided tape, then ballasted and once the surplus was removed, the PVA/H2O mix applied to set it all in place. This, in practice, didn't work with the DS tape I tried and, with limited options here in Longreach, I had resigned myself to gluing the track down followed by the tedium of ballasting as described.

I thought about what sort of look I was seeking and read some comments about putting a strip of glue down and applying ballast to this to make an edge while ballasting Peco track - which obviously needs a lot more ballast than 2mm on PCB sleepers. I thought this would work in 2mm and thought I would give it ago using thin DS tape to make uniform edges.

This photo shows what I was aiming for and I am well pleased. So, having achieved it, I thought I should take some photos of the process.

Step one - stick the DS tape on the outside of the sleepers. In this case it is 3mm wide DS tape and, while I am not sure if it is right, it looks right to me so by virtue of Rule 1, that is what I have!!

Step two - expose the upper sticky side (and in my case I cut away from where the cattle dock is going) and then sprinkle on the ballast. As previously mentioned it is the Woodland Sceneics variety. Can't remember which type - search back though the blog to find it.

Step three - using your wife's eyelash brush (with permission - in my case Amity volunteered it at the original ballasting session) arrange the ballast as neatly as possible. Be warned, too much pressure on the bristles of the brush and you may have to start again. How do I know this????

Step four - using a NEW fine tipped brush (new works better cause the bristles aren't hard) do the final detailing bits.

Step five - using a fine atomiser (again, if you are lucky like me, your wife will donate one from her stash of "stuff". This one is particularly good.) wet the track. I use window cleaner in my water as the tension release agent as it doesn't sud up.

Step six - Apply the PVA/H2O mix. I use a surplus Children's Panadol syringe. If you have enough children you have plenty of these around! Make sure you keep it with your ballasting kit and don't use it on the kids!

Once applied it should look something like this. I went along and did some further touch ups with a cocktail stick and the end of my metal straight edge to ensure things were no going to set in the wrong spot.

And the finished product. Now to build the cattle dock. Missy (aka Julia Adams) has provided the inspiration and I plan on nicking her design. More to follow - but when I went looking for the parts earlier this evening I discovered a blown bulb in the store room and I have put off finding a new bulb until tomorrow.

Photo update

2011-02-06T18:38:00.000+10:00

As promised in the last post here are some photos of the track work as it stands. While it isn't especially clear all the plain track has been painted in a combination of Track and Sleeper colours from the Precision range and, to me, looks pretty good. The point timbering hasn't been painted and all the points will be removed this evening (and labeled!!) so I can sort out things like TOUs and switching of the frogs (silly me only brought two colours of wire with me).

Progress since the last update includes ballasting the full length of the approach track from the fiddle yard and wiring the plain track for DCC operation (which was much simpler than doing it for DC cab control as all the wires were joined up - same amount of droppers however). The ballasting result was much better this time - although no photos. I will take some photos and post a description of how the two sessions were approached. Certainly I know how I will be doing the rest!

Fiddle yard end crossing with platform road above and coal merchant siding below. Cattle dock is off to the right from this view - the track leaves from the toe of the bottom point.

Coal merchants labeled. There will be two at Swallow's End - one with a concrete slab to work from (which will be in front of where the ballasting is up to) and one with coal staithes - this area is visible marked on the board.

Another view of the crossing above - this time in the plan view and from the other side of the baseboard.

Layout Part VII - Track work finished

2011-02-04T23:31:00.001+10:00

Just a short update. I got stuck in tonight and finished off the track work - actually I did an hour on the last point last night (68 chair plates in the hour which finished that task and the side rails done) - but other than painting the plain track and sorting the switch blades and TOUs and ballast the track is done. The soldering iron can go away for a bit. Tomorrow I plan on doing the painting and, now that I have a tripod and can therefore take timed exposure shots, some better quality photos of progress. I am also looking at making up foot prints of the various structures so, in addition to the ballasting, the surrounding ground will start to be done. All very exciting - and the axles for the Class 108 and the missing one for the 24 have been ordered. The mojo is well back having been MIA over the Christmas/New Year period. Must be being back at work and wanting something else to do!

Weekend Update

2011-01-30T22:47:00.002+10:00

I had hoped to have news that the trackwork on Swallow's End was "finished" but unfortunately I have fallen short of my goal for this weekend. At the start of the weekend I still had 5 points and about a yard of track to construct. At the time of writing, 4 of the points have been mostly done (the switch rails are missing until I have built TOUs) and the 5th is about 12 timbers away from getting rails put on it. The track which is missing is down to the bits of fill around the 5th point. The photo below tells the story. I would guess about 8 hours work for the weekend, comprising Friday evening, some of Saturday, Saturday evening, a bit of today (Sunday) and this evening. I would expect about an hour, hour and a half would see it at the point where all the plain track was in place and the last bits preped for painting. The points will be removed so I can check all the plain track for shorts and do the points on the workbench where it is easier to go sleeper by sleeper (or more correctly, timber by timber) to ensure I have done the breaks properly. Then it is a case of working out a TOU and fitting the points, wiring it all up and... sorting a locomotive!!! (Late news on this - Shop 3 has the stuff I need and order has been place - stay tuned!!) The TOUs won't be done until March (as I won't be getting anywhere near a hobby supplier until 25th Feb) so in the meantime, there is ballasting to do and a start on the scenery. Somewhere along the line I will do something about my traverser as well.

The bit which took a fair bit of time - sorting out the timbers in the gaps around these three B7 points. I will try for a better photo tomorrow afternoon in daylight.

The whole layout - the end of the run-round loop is actually done but isn't fixed in place yet, owing the the point not having been finished. It is done however and it is only the point and approximately 5 or 6 sleepers of exit to the buffers to do.

Layout Part VI - Points

2011-01-24T20:51:00.002+10:00

Sorry for the late running of the Friday Night Update. Truth be told, I didn't think there was much to show for my efforts and I wasn't going to update at all but Amity said seeing the progress and having an idea of time involved is one of the things she likes reading on people's scrapbooking blogs and so...

I spent approximately 6 hours over the weekend getting the 5 remaining points sorted. This involved cutting 180 sleepers to the correct length (having printed out some B7 L and R points from Templot) and then making a start on putting the Versaline chair plates on them. By knock off time last night I had got to the point where 2 of the 5 points had been thought the chair jig and were double sided taped down to the templates for fettling of the chairs (I find I have to fiddle with some - not sure why but I suspect it has to do with the fact the Versaline system works on 31 timbers and Templot 30 for the B7. No, I don't know why they are different either!). The other 3 point are in the loose stage of timbers waiting their turn on the production line. So 6 hours down, no rail soldered to anything and I reckon a good 3-4 hours to go to get them to the point of test fitting on the layout. Then there is the not insignificant matter of the TOU...

The photos below show the story.

Sleepers cut ready to lay out

Placing for fit

Waiting for rail

Waiting for rail 2 (the wave is prototypically Queensland at present!)

Layout Part V - First part of the worst part (ballasting).

2011-01-20T21:43:00.001+10:00

Amity and I started ballasting tonight. While the track isn't complete (Parcel 1 of 2 - the missing one - turned up on Tuesday so track work is back on tomorrow evening I hope), Thursday Night is Train Night in the Knight household - and we both do "something" model railway related (just to make it fair, Tuesdays are spent Scrapbooking). About the only thing we can both do until I sort out (ie tidy) the work bench (I now have one which isn't the dining room table!) is ballasting so we started.

The ballast is the Woodland Scenics B75 Fine Grey. First time I have used a proprietary ballast (previously it has been sieved sand and crusher dust) and first time I have ballasted before all the other scenery - it seems to be the 2mm way so I thought I would "go with the flow".

I made a start on the platform road - my efforts are shown in the picture. The fact that the ballast isn't on the lower side (as you look at the photo) is because the platform isn't presently in place and so that bit will wait until then. Amity made a start on the coal merchant's siding on the other side of the board as shown below.

Further updates tomorrow in the normal Friday Night Update.

Freelance Siphon

2011-01-18T10:44:00.002+10:00

The longest inhabitant of my UFO box was inspired by an article published in the Railway Modeller 10 years ago this month - I only realised it was 10 years when I went looking for the article to show Amity from whence the inspiration came.

In the January 2001 RM, there was an article titled "Traffic for Tickling" by Mike Smith in which he outlined some ideas he had for a milk train for his freelance Light Railway. Mike was planning on using the L&Y inside framed van and Cambrian Railways milk and poultry van as his inspiration and, I assume, did the violence to the Peco 15' van which he proposed in the article to achieve same. I wasn't going to go that far, but the idea that I could do something to enable a train of Farish 4 wheelers to use the Peco Elsie system without having to do drastic things to the Farish chassis appealed and so an Idea was born.

My idea involved using bits and pieces from the left overs from kits and mounting the resulting body on a Peco brake van chassis - which gave me the running boards. In my case, I used the 10' version and a left over bit of roof from some Southern kit (Chivers I think - long since faded from memory what was used but the profile matches the Chivers CCT/PMV roof) and the filed down ends from the NGS Kit 18 D1646 van. The top of the ends was filed to match the roof profile. This was mounted on a spare floor, again from an NGS kit and the whole fitted to the proposed chassis. Then nothing happened. The plan was to use strip styrene to build up the slatted sides, load in some milk churns, fit the uncoupling arm and paint. However...

Scroll forward 10 years and my visit to Brisbane last week and finally the strip was purchased. I used the Evergreen range and for the 6 strips per side the 0.010" x 0.040" (code 102) was used. The doors were from the V-Groove range from the same supplier (code 2050) which was purchased to make open planked wagon bodies (more of which anon). The framing was done with the 0.010" x 0.030" (code 101). To show the locking bar some monofiliment from a Ratio signal kit was used.

The pictures below distort it a bit - still working out the new camera! I suspect this van (and the train which I have planned but have not started as such) will wind up behind something from the IoSR - like Thomas or Toby. The livery is Humbrol 64 for the roof, 71 for the cream and 127 for the blue. The paint is only a first coat so will be tidied up. I suspect I will use some yellow transfers for lettering and numbering - MMT575 seems like a good choice.

I'm back...

2011-01-17T20:22:00.003+10:00

Long time no blog! Come to that, long time no trains either. As many would know there has been some significant flooding here in Queensland - Google will provide you with pictures and if you are interested, Google "Premiers Flood Relief Fund" and make a donation. Every little bit will help.

Personally, I was very lucky. Longreach's river flooded but the town was not, I was in Brisbane when the Brisbane River flooded but my parents were not flooded either. The only inconvenience to me has been mail and perishable food. On the mail front, two mail deliveries since before Christmas has seen Parcel 2 of 2 turn up from the 2mm Shop 1 but to date, Parcel 1 of 2 from the same place has not arrived. Naturally the bits I really need are in Parcel 1. The NGS Journal 6/10 arrived today (18th Jan). The parcel from Hatton's arrived in the other delivery which was on the 6th of Jan.

The other thing which delayed trains was the arrival of Lisa Lily on the 31st of December 2010. Both mum and bub are doing very well - the Hatton's parcel referred to contained Lisa's Jinty which will be renumbered in due course to an LMS number rather than the BR one which it arrived wearing.

Today was the first day this year I did anything significant railway wise and I hope to have some photos and the story tomorrow.

Layout Part IV - Templot and painting

2010-12-30T21:45:00.001+10:00

Since the cricket was a debacle and since child number 4 is still coming (due 16/12 so a bit like the LNER - Late Never Early) I got stuck in and painted the track which I had completed (well most of it - the bits at the end of the loop haven't been done) and added droppers, and glued it down with PVA as seen in the pictures attached. I have also purchased Templot - thanks to Geoff J who sent me some shots of what he had done, it tipped me over the edge and given the strength of the A$ v the Euro, Pound and US$ it was a steal! - and drew up the loop and associated points to get a better feel for how it will look - and I was able to check clearances too.

Photo 1 shows the RH point heading to the platform, the bottom LH point having the road to the cattle dock heading from the toe (thanks to the couple of people who suggested swapping the cattle and the coal so the livestock was further from the platform!) and the arrival end of the loop. The gap in the point work is because I printed the RH point later.

These two photos show the layout from a birds eye view. Mr Shop 1 tells me the missing bits were posted from the snow bound UK - which means having gotten thought Heathrow (!) they are probably flood bound somewhere in Queensland. For those who haven't heard, an area the size of France and Germany combined is currently under water here - fortunately the only things affected for me are mail, and groceries however our own river managed to get to Minor Flood level this evening - it won't affect us in town I think.

As this is likely to be the last post for 2010 (Baby 4 is being given the hurry up tomorrow morning so I don't think the Friday Night Update will be happening!) I would like to wish all who read a Happy and Safe 2011.

Oxford Diecast Horsebox

2010-12-27T11:37:00.001+10:00

Amongst the various bits and pieces I received for Christmas was three models from Oxford Diecast which were given to me by my parents. One of the three was the Southern Railway liveried horsebox and as it happened a couple of days before Christmas the December/January Magazine from the 2mm Association arrived. This contained an article by Matthew Wald in which he explained how he had modified the Oxford offerings of both the mechanical horse and horsebox in LNER livery for Copenhagen Fields. Given that I didn't really have a need for a SR liveried horsebox (an LMS one now...) I thought it would make a good guinea pig to try out what Matthew did for myself.

The first thing to do was to take the horsebox out of its box and dis-assemble it. Like Matthew I found the glazing didn't want to come out neatly and so it is the pile on the right hand side. Apologies for the poor quality of the photo below but I had finished the project before I looked at the photos on the computer or I would have taken a better one. For the benefit of readers who aren't members of the 2mm Association, the wheels need to be cut out of the chassis. For the steering axle at the front, this I found was easiest by folding the seats forward and nicking the two bits of plastic holding the axle in. For the 4 wheel driving axle, this was removed by slicing from below.

The main surgery is in shortening the axles. For the fore axles I cut in half and then filed down the ends. I also filed the chassis a bit, offering the whole up to the body until I was satisfied the wheels were now sitting in the wheel arches, and not protruding. The aft axle I was able to take the wheels off, file the wheels down at the back, drill the hole a bit deeper and reassemble it all. Again, offer it up to the body in the chassis until satisfied with the fit.

Once happy with the axles, reassemble it all and glue the wheels in. The photo below shows the SR one next to an unmodified BR liveried horsebox. It shows the changes to the wheels very clearly and demonstrates why it is worth the time. Speaking of time, this was the work of the lunch break during Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test - and a Test which wasn't worth watching if an Australian supporter!

Matthew filed clear plastic to fit for the windows. I used Microscale Krytal Klear. The side windows were straight forward but after a couple of goes with the windscreen and not being happy with it, I eventually filed around the original and stuck it in place with the Krystal Klear. Prior to doing the windows, the body was painted with Humbrol 49 - Matt Varnish. Any similar product will do the trick and the timing in the process is arbitrary. It certainly helps to take the "toy" out of the model. I plan on giving mine a light weathering too.

So the finished model. Remember that at NVD the windscreen looks a lot better. It wasn't until I was looking at the photos that I noticed the fogginess. Having done this, I plan on doing the BR one to match and then looking at the other Oxford offerings to see what can be done - perhaps wing mirrors? I haven't found a good enough photo to see the position yet!

Merry Christmas

2010-12-24T09:32:00.000+10:00

Since it is Christmas Eve, and there is a lull between chores in preparing for tomorrow (bearing in mind I have 3 daughters under 5 - and still waiting for the baby which was due on the 16th!), I thought I would take this opportunity to wish all those who have been reading about my adventures a Merry Christmas. Thank you to all who have commented either on the blog itself or via email, answering questions and offering advice and encouragement. I haven't done what I had planned to do this year (i.e. Elm Road) but I am very satisfied with what has been done - and looking forward to sharing my continuing adventures with both N gauge and 2mm FS in 2011. I hope Christmas time brings joy and happiness - and something railway related in the assorted gifts and goodies.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Layout Part III - It lives (sort of)

2010-12-22T21:36:00.002+10:00

Having almost run out of chair plates for track building and being a little bit impatient (normally by now a layout of mine would have had something running on it!) I nicked the DD's controller and hard wired it to the platform road. The above (poor) footage is of Mavis going for a run. Previously I had a go with the only J70 I have built together with the W&U 4 wheel tram which were built back in March (no progress since - waiting for bits and organisation!) as I figured the only 2mm loco I had should get a go. Unfortunately the footage of that was worse than this so this will have to do.

Layout Part II - Swallow's End Track Plan

2010-12-18T14:09:00.002+10:00

The layout now has a name - thanks to all who provided advice, suggestions and pointed out where some of the suggestions had previously been used. Given that the previous layout built here in Longreach was named Swallow Street (after the street where we live - and based on a track plan called Collier Street, Amity's maiden name) we decided this terminus should continue the theme and so Swallow's End.

Swallow's End is a quiet little village "somewhere in England". If it were GWR territory it would be yellow/blue code (I am not too up with the GWR colour coding but the 57xx in the Haresnape book I have are marked thus). I guess this gives a nominal axle load of around 18T for locomotives so I will work with that.

I have also negotiated a small extension. Instead of having cassette operation, I am going to build traverser tray which will hold the trains and be separate to the main board (bolted on for operation). This in effect will mean the previous entry/exit line will be moved 15 inches to the end of the board. At this stage I don't plan on changing the track plan by adding more space in the loop but I could - this will mean there is a bit more room for the points but the traverser will be fixed at a 0-6-0T, 7x 10' wagons and a 15' brake.

The signals are marked where I think they should be - as there is the possibility of a passenger train being locked in the platform while a freight comes in (or vice versa) I am assuming block control. Obviously, should such a branch stub survive Beeching, it may well have become a one engine in steam and eventually just the platform if close enough to a major urban centre to provide suburban traffic (similar to how St Alban's Abbey is now). With the extension, the home signals can be included rather than just the pair of starters. The positioning of the home signals provides the limit of shunt as well.

Friday Night Update - 17 December

2010-12-17T22:51:00.000+10:00

Just a quick update - I spent the evening making track for the still un-named layout (thanks to the 2mmVAG members who have supplied a very long list of suggestions. Management is looking into it and also consulting here the Gazetteer of British Place Names to see what can be made of it all). I was very pleased to have made a scale 240 feet in just a tick under 60 mins. I guess it helped having the lengths of rail pre-cut and the chairs pre-tinned (these were done a couple of nights ago when I had made too many joint errors and decided to just do simple stuff for the last half hour!) but still, to get a length done and out of the jig in less than 15 mins was a triumph for me! I also got the 4th buffer stop done and worked out how many full 60' lengths I still need (7) and then check to see how many sets of chair plates I still had (6 - naturally!). Two steps forward, one back... Shop 1 has the order (I hope) and so once the snow and ice clears and it makes its way here, progress shall continue (although I will do the last 6 lengths and start painting sleepers and what not).

DCC conversion

2010-12-16T14:27:00.002+10:00

I had a go at converting a loco to DCC last night. In this case, I started small converting my model of 45 114 following the pretty straightforward explanation (with pictures - I like pictures!) found here Farish Diesel DCC Fitting. I had to remove quite a chunk of the metal from the end with the chip and socket (I decided to put the socket in so I can put a blanking plug in to run on DC - it also meant if I did any dodgy soldering, I wouldn't be damaging a chip) and it still isn't fitting quite right so I will probably have to unsolder it all, pull the whole loco apart and remove some more metal. The blog which I followed suggested a milling machine would be best but I found using a file just as good - if a bit time consuming. The best part was, having put it all together it worked - and has been programmed using my NCE ProCab. So now to the next - a Class 33. The grand plan is to do all the blue diesels in DCC and having done this one, it should be a doddle - although I will have to work up to the 03, 04, 08 and 14 I think.

EDIT - a couple of hours later and I have removed some more of the metal under the chip and it all fits perfectly. I had to sacrifice the cab moulding at that end, but I am thinking of detailing the buffer beam at the other end in any case so the end with the cab in it will be leading. It isn't noticeable unless you look, but knowing it is missing, I will see it every time that end leads if I don't make it a one way loco. Not sure what train it will get - possibly a Freightliner container set when I get around to sorting the collection I got on eBay a couple of months back.

Deltic Downunder

2010-12-15T13:43:00.001+10:00

Blogger has enabled the upload of video and I thought my most recent arrival would make a good test subject (sorry for the poor quality - I will see if I can do a better job and edit it later). This is Deltic, still running in. I didn't realise it came with directional lights (probably should have since this seems to be standard on all new diesels these days) and to be honest, I am a little bit disappointed. I don't know that it will be operational with no train all that often so the red will have to go. The white is quite bright and there will need to be something done to remove the inner glow in front of the cab. At the slowest speed I could run it at on pure DC the lights were out. Once it has run in for the hour each way, and I have checked the lubrication, I will stick a chip in it and see how slow it will go on DCC.

As one of those "it doesn't really fit my plans but gee whiz" locos I am very pleased with it. I do model LMR so it is appropriate (which tends to boggle the mind a little as I always associated Deltics with the ECML) and I have seen the real beast so it was snapped up when it was announced. And here for Christmas too.

Track once more

2010-12-11T23:17:00.001+10:00

I spent the evening making a start on the track for the Un-named Layout. So far I have about a metre (3 feet 3 inches for those who don't understand metric!) done which comprises most of the road into the platform. This has been done as one continuous piece - a little bit fragile as far as moving it about goes but since it will form an electrical block, it seems like a good idea. I have built a LMS/BR (1-070 for the 2mm SA members reading) as shown below - it has a sleeper instead of the metal cross piece which solves the electrical break issue.

The eagle eyed will notice that the bit of track from the leading wheel of the 57xx to the buffers doesn't have chair plates while the rest does. This is because the bit which ended up getting the buffers was the first of the trial pieces of track I built following fettling of the original jig I was sent - I couldn't see any good reason not to used it (and I had to shorten it as it happens to fit) and putting the buffers on it seemed like a good solution. After all, the loco really shouldn't be getting too much closer than this now should it?

Layout Part I

2010-12-10T23:05:00.002+10:00

I had a very busy day today. I finally added a ply top to the aluminum frame which my parents brought up to me in June. The ply came from school - I had my eye on the off cut bit for a while but had to wait until the end of term to "obtain" it from the scrap bin. So it came home last week and today permission was granted to fit the bits together.

So having drilled and riveted it all together (for those counting rivets there were 26), it received a coat of undercoat and this evening, rather than hitting the work bench, I spent a couple of hours drawing, erasing, redrawing, swearing, cleaning the whole board and starting again until I got something which feels prototypical, has operational interest and while challenging, won't put me off.

The baseboard measures a little under 2 meters long by 10 inches wide. I know this is mixing measurements but that is what you get for a layout which is 2mm to the foot!! I have allowed 400mm for cassettes - this holds a Class 73, 5 of the new Farish 5 plank wagons and a new Farish LMS Brakevan. It also easily holds a 57xx and B Set.

Entry is between some trees and past the headshunt/coal merchants siding. Straight on takes you to the yard, the platform road deviates to the back (I am not planning on a backscene but Amity says there must be a front and a back or she will get confused. The Cassette Bay is on the RH end for the purposes of this exercise). The platform doesn't have run around facilities - trains requiring same will have to set back to the trees, head into the yard, perform the run around and then head back to the platform. Adds to the operational interest.

The yard is fairly basic - goods shed, cattle dock, crane and coal merchant. The crane will probably be on the cattle line separate to the goods shed. While the layout is neat and orderly it is a bit cramped and this will mean somewhere else to drop a wagon.

The captions hopefully will give you a fairly good idea. Now that I have a track plan in 1:1 scale (relatively speaking!) I will draw it up tomorrow and post.

Photo 1 - looking over the coal merchant/head shunt towards the trees which will hide the entry/exit.

Photo 2 - The 57xx and B Set are in the platform road. The 882xxx is in the arrival/departure road in the yard. Scalescenes free goods shed making up the feel to the left.

Photo 3 - taken from the cassette bay end looking towards the buffer stops in the distance.

Photo 4 - Railways from the Air! The bottom track is the cattle dock's location. The length of track next to the 5 plank wagons is roughly the distance between the points on the run around section.

Photo 5 - another shot of the entry/exit end of the layout.

Photo 6 - the whole lot. The line marking the entry/exit can just be seen to the right of the trees.

So far (assuming you, the reader, have gotten this far!) the layout doesn't have a name. Amity suggested Shortreach or Thompson Sidings as having links to where we live (the river is the Thompson - and the town is built on the long reach of said river...). My current favourite is Coruscant - although it isn't built up enough. Suggestions would be welcome - living so far from the UK we don't have a good handle on place names. Just a word of caution - we are looking for something generic. This layout will have LBSCR Terriers, LNWR Coal Tanks, 57xx's, Class 14's and LNER J70's running on it from time to time (although with only two trains fitting there is no chance (ha ha) of all these happening at once) so a name which screams West Country or Black Country or Wales or Scotland won't help.

School's out for summer...

2010-12-08T22:30:00.000+10:00

I started my 7 week annual summer holiday at COB last Friday. Since then I have managed to get quite a bit of time at the Workbench (thanks to an understanding wife and 2 well trained daughters. D3 (who isn't yet 2 years old) isn't quite as well trained and tipped the gluey water mix I use for transfers over me, the floor and the table today, but no serious damage done. Training has been intensified in this respect!

So what have I done you ask? Well today was a day of transfers...

The top three rows of wagons (and loads) were done today, in and around entertaining D2 from time to time.

Starting at the top - NGS Kit 18 - LMS Van Twin Pack. These have been lettered and numbered using the Modelmaster transfers found in MMT073 (for the fitted - with BR numbers) and MMT571 (for the unfitted in LMS livery). Second row is 4x NGS Kit 3. These have been done in LMS livery using numbers and tare weights from MMT571 and letters from MMT576. The third row of Peco Conflat A kits has been done using MMT570.

The bottom row is part of what I have been doing the last couple of days. As mentioned in my previous post, I was in the process of doing a Chivers Finelines LNER D5 Horsebox in LNER Painted Teak. This is now at the stage of needing a couple of small corrections to the paint job and then transfers. In looking up details, I discovered that my original livery was wrong in a couple of places - firstly I didn't have black ends and secondly, the solebars were painted teak to match the body - something which I hadn't done either. These have both been fixed. I glazed the model using Microscale Kristal Klear and then painted the WC windows white from the inside. Naturally, I learnt about the WC after I fixed the roofs but they were persuaded to part company with the bodies with a minimum of fuss and no damage so all fixed. Just left to transfer these up. I am considering raiding the transfers from the NGS Mk 1 Horsebox kit - certainly one of the lines of lettering saying "Return to Leyburn" will probably get a run as Leyburn is the subject of a layout being constructed in South East Queensland.

Additionally I glazed one side of the Ultima SR BG kit which started the trend into brass kits - see along time back in the blog for details of this vehicle! - and I have been working on two Ultima LMS 42' CCT's which hopefully will be finished off by the weekend. They are at the stage of needing their transfers done. One of these kits was purchased at the 2mm SA Expo at Huddersfield in 2000 - so a long time getting out of the UFO pile! Back then it was 15 quid - I still have the box I purchased it in. The second one was purchased this year - for 15 quid! Inflation in Model Railways?? Sez who!

LNER D5 Horsebox

2010-12-06T11:09:00.000+10:00

Some time back I managed to get via eBay 3 more Chivers LNER D5 Horsebox kits. The one shown above is being finished in LNER "Teak" Brown paint - the other two are joining the original one I had in BR Crimson.

The brown is Precision Paints P60 - I don't think this would work for actual teak stock (so it won't be used in the NGS D113 BG kit which I would like to do in teak) but seems to be pretty good for the NPCCS stuff which was painted.

In other news I made a start on painting the LNWR Brake 3rd but painting the LNWR livery is proving to be a slow and frustrating process. I did take a photo but won't be sharing! I thought I had done a better job than the photo showed - and probably from NVD I did, but the enlargements is what you see here on the blog so I can't hide. Ignorance is bliss they say and now that I am not as ignorant as I was last night, I will do some remedial work before showing it off.

LBSCR Stroudley Brake 3rd

2010-11-28T21:46:00.000+10:00

A further photo update. This is the Etched Pixels Stroudley Brake 3rd kit which I made a start on on Friday last. Still need to get some bits and work out how to glaze and fit the roof. I also have to work out what to do about an interior. Amity is supposed to be building the 4 coach rake but decided I should do one to see how it goes before she does the rest. Might have to get a second solder station so we can solder together as I don't think she will be interested in using the old kit (assuming we can find it - it got sacked when the new one arrived!).

The kit is pretty straightforward and a simple entry kit enabling those LBSCR liveried Terriers to get trains - we got these for Boxhill. (Stepney will get something else I think - possibly a well wagon with an Austin 7 on it and a brake van full of cricketers...) There are a few niggles I have - mostly to do with the sticking on of the roof (which I would rather solder) and the effect this has on being able to glaze the coach - but I think it is fair to say they are amongst the earlier Etched Pixels designs and I suspect like most things, learning curves tend to be steepest at the start.

Rather than putting it on a Peco chassis I suspect these will end up on the replacements from the 2mm SA for no other reason than being able to have better wheels and buffers than the Peco offerings. There will also be the opportunity to do different couplings as well.

LNWR Signal Box - part 2

2010-11-28T12:43:00.001+10:00

Here is a picture of progress on the LNWR Signal Box for St Alban's Abbey. I had a look at the pictures I have of the box and discovered that the effort I had gone to with making sure the "convenience" fitted was in vain as this wasn't fitted until at least the late 1950's and I am intending on modelling the station in LNWR days. So off it had to go. The end wall as seen in the first photo further down the blog has been used to fill the hole in the etch - not sure why there was one to be honest as having it as an add on surely would have been easier.

I have also shortened the roof to be a push fit to the building - again the pictures show there was no over hang at each end.

Interior wise the 25 levers of the frame have been fitted as has a table and chair - there are two chairs on the etch so another one to go. I am presently trying to work out how to fit the stove (which is white metal so will be put on last with some glue prior to painting) and a ledge near the stairs for a couple of fire buckets or similar.

As mentioned in the original post, the kit isn't 100% accurate for St Alban's Abbey - the windows being too deep being the chief fault. As such, I am not worrying too much about the slightly more ornate ends either and may modify the paint job as shown in the only colour photo I have. As this has a green DMU passing the box - with a different type of convenience hanging on next to the door than the one in the kit - I am not too worried.

The box is nearly complete. I am going to fit some bits to help locate the floor so I can have it as a drop in piece - making it easier to paint. The roof is also going to be separate so the interior can be seen from time to time.

Friday Night Update - 26 November

2010-11-26T21:53:00.000+10:00

So back at it tonight. No real project - just bits and pieces.

The replacement jig from the 2mm SA arrived today but I will leave it until tomorrow to give it a go.

Tonight's main effort was making the Etched Pixels Stroudley 26ft Brake Third. Pretty straight forward although the duckets are a little tricky. I don't have the bits for the roof and I am a little disappointed that I won't be able to sloder the roof on - either that or I will have to come up with a different way of glazing.

I also did a bit more on the LNWR signal box, MR Meat Wagon and LNWR Horsebox. Photos tomorrow (hopefully) or Sunday.

Track again

2010-11-21T12:10:00.001+10:00

After a bit of fettling of the jig I think I have cracked it. The four lengths above are the work of an evening - about 2 hours which I am pretty pleased with. Tinning everything first was a key to getting the neatness. The length on the right doesn't have chairplates fitted - it was the first length in the "fixed" jig and since it worked, I did the other three with chairplates.

Now to work out how much I need and to get some ply for the frame I have... School holidays soon so I am hoping for a 2mm Christmas - but will have to organise one more Cl 24 axle so I have a loco.

Mavis and Elm Road

2010-11-14T09:57:00.003+10:00

As mentioned months ago, Amity and I are planning on building a model of Elm Road on the W&U (pages 27 and 28 in the Wild Swan Book by Hawkins and Reeve). To help with planning we acquired some time back two boxes of "Elm Trees" from the Bachmann Scenic range. With Mavis now passed for duty - and a start made on her train of stone wagons (inspiration for livery from the front of Tramway Engines by Rev. W. Awdry) while she was running on the kids Kato uni-track oval, I got the trees out and set them up. Looks pretty good - and Mavis looks good gliding around with the fully enclosed motion. So inspiration has returned (in fact at one point the 4 converted Farish Fruit Vans were trailing around - 2mm axles do fit Kato track although not the points if you are interested in a quick and dirty test track. Can't vouch for anything over 10' wheel base but!) but the hassles of construction of a baseboard have not changed so not sure what will happen.

Photo update

2010-11-14T09:45:00.005+10:00

So this is what I have done this weekend. Weather definitely no good for spray painting (in fact the roads out of town to the north and south are closed to all traffic, the one heading east is open to 4WDs and trucks only and I suspect it is only a matter of time before the one heading west is likewise) so will leave it alone!

As mentioned, I have finished the two 8' LNWR bogies from the 2mmSA and fitted same to the Ultima LNWR 6 Comp Brake 3rd. I have also shorted a Farish LMS Suburban roof to fit - next thing to do is clean the roof up and start fitting vents and what not!

The piece of track under the coach is from the first round of fettling on the rouge jig I got - almost fixed it to my satisfaction and a few more passes with the rule and 180 grit paper (as suggested by Henk) should sort it. As it happens, the guys in the UK are far too organised and a replacement is already heading my way - thanks Owen (Shop 1) and the previously mentioned Alan, Jim and Geoff.

Friday Night Update

2010-11-12T22:44:00.002+10:00

Well the planned track building session hit a snag. The jig for putting chairplates on the sleepers works well. The jig for putting rail on the chairplates once they are on the sleepers does not. Readers of the 2mm VAG will know the whole saga. Thanks to Geoff, Alan and Jim the wheels are in motion already to sort. Also thanks to Henk for a suggestion which may be the quickest and easiest solution. Stay tuned.

Rather than wasting the evening, I made a start on the pair of LNWR 8' bogies which turned up with all the track stuff for fitting under the Ultima coach mentioned previously. I have done the bogie for the guard's end - footboards etc. Just the other to go. Will probably knock it over tomorrow and, assuming the weather fines up, paint them on Sunday afternoon - in between doing the first round of reports for the end of the school year. Photos then - hopefully the weather will at least be kind enough for that, if not the painting.