2014_08_29 Something Different?

Hello All
The weather has turned, days are warm and dry, and each night is a little warmer than the one before :D

Jobs done! 5 Dcc Sounds of Australia chips fitted :) plus two Tsunami. That's a big deal around here.

And after unloading my goodies from Caulfield I was able to create a complete train.

Damn ETM was a cow to fit Had to file away the bogie top and find a flat head screw because the wheels jammed in the bearing holes. Looks like the hour or two I spent on it stuffed some steps too :(
I intend to swap the US heads with an original VR one in time ;)
So Watto I trump your one tank container with all the above :)

2014_08_24

Sunday after the big Exhibition (AMRA)

Well yesterday morning I awoke 5 minutes before the alarm went off at 3.00am and got dressed and grabbed a coffee and departed for Melbourne. All my plans for accommodation the night before failed to eventuate and I decided to go early. Parked the car at Kilmore East and went on to Caulfield on the first up, arriving at 8.20am just behind Big Watto :) Some enjoyable banter filled in the wait before the doors opened at 9.00 however a pest kept butting in as I tried to talk with Zec. who was there a few minutes after me.
Struggled home about midnight with a bag of goodies which I must go outside and check out now :)
More later
Cheers
Rod Young

2014_08_22

2014_08_22 

Have a look at this one :)   Thanks Jim for sharing

 As to my Railway, I guess I will never reach this stage, but then neither could this Russian, without his money :)
Cheers
Rod

2014_08_21

2014_08_21  The warmer days have arrived, but the nights are still coll, too cool for the shed.


Well again it was time to step back from current frustrations.  So I found I had 58 unfinished projects on a temporary work bench. Actually the front of the Coal siding yards. I decided to start on these projects and take a break from points and track laying, particularly point motors :)

Projects were mostly sound units not completed (remember the FA G Class (not going there yet though) I found a BLI track mobile that had stopped, and fixed that.
I restarted other projects, only to find I did not know where the parts I bought were stored, so I
went through the place and located most of my supplies, and eventually was able to get 6 models on to the tracks in service.

Yesterday 10 BP tanks arrived from Southern Models, and I am pleased with them. Unfortunately I am suffering a lot of derailments, and they are random vehicles at random places. The gauge appears ok, and they are code 100 so I cant blame code 88, can I?

I don't know that a better camera will help me, I think my eyes are failing faster than I thought :(
Cheers
Rod

2014_08_13 PL Cars

2014_08_13  The drought (no models) has broken.
With Southern Models taking money for the VR Tanks, and a parcel from Austrains, and  also notification that my 81's and final G's are to be sent today, my poor bank account is in trouble once again.

In this video T326 brings up 6 PL cars freshly out shopped for use on the Branch line.
Unfortunately T326 suffered sound decoder failure after I stored it on JMRI so I could use the WIFI Controller on my I-phone.  Fortunately I have an ESU programmer and mike will send me the project to reload and fix the problem.   The sound here is not representative of the DCC sounds I originally purchased.

All four body styles :)
Cheers
Rod

2014_08_06 G Class?

2014_08_06

Just been tinkering around. Just too damn cold to settle into a job worth doing on the layout. Catching up on videos an TV.  But did some work on these today, just because people were talking on FaceAche about them. Cant believe I wasted the whole day on a computer (again :(  )

 

 When you come to think about it, the much criticized Powerline upgrade with a new all wheel modern mech might be popular if the price is kept low. This 25 year old body stands pretty well even with flush glaze and a bit of added brass.
Cheers
Rod

2014_07_30

2014_07_30  its starting to warm up, but its still raining! Hell of a drought ;)

So whats been happening?
Not a lot, apart from trying to sort out the servo motors and rewire the older sections of the railway.

And I have been running a lot of trains...

And I am laying track in Bullarto, hopefully sorting out all the derailments I suffered there since installation. We are tearing out the home made points and the hand laid track, sadly :) But it is just not reliable enough, the rail profile is not available, fish plates don't fit, and its just quicker to put ME code 70 points and track down so I can get trains rolling once more :)

Here are a few pictures

repaired the platform fascia and adjusted the track bed. Unfortunately the join is not perfect left where the modules needed to come apart, but I think I have sorted most of the problems with the new track. Just like real railway practice, I will try to leave some of the original hand laid track in place.

Servo motors are in and singlet control modules in place. Just need to program them in.

Another way of supporting my back working underneath. Its almost impossible to set the motors up in centre and screw them in place sucessfully, But I did get these two installed and working. It just takes time.  Because the servo motor needs to be at right angles to the movement of the blades. I tightly screwed one side in and climbed out from under, and realigned the blades to middle (Servo was already centered. Then drilled in another attaching screw. And it worked! Well its two out of two, but about 7 more to install to prove the method, I guess?
 

This my second attempt at installing these servos. I found Tam Valleys instructions hard to understand. I frigged around so many times that I confused the singlet logic and broke one pair of points. Had to replace the mech in this set with a brass sleeper. But it works just fine.
The servos can be reset, So I reset both of them and they again became operational. Well done Mr. Tam Valley.

Another ME No6 point goes in, and Bullarto is again linked to Trentham.

Cheers
Rod

2014_07_22

2014_07_22
It was so cold yesterday and I kept out of the shed, and today is not going to be any better.

About two hours after Dawn, so I guess it was worse before the melt started.  I would think the rails will shrink and pop fishplates, and I will need to be careful, especially on curves and in particular the Helix.
Cheers
Rod

2014 July 20 It did snow but....

2014_07_20

The poor old winter Doona almost let me down last night. Under the clearest night sky we have seen for more than a month, I turned in and wrapt the Doona all round and slept peacefuuly till 10.00 am :D
Apparently the whole place was covered in a thick white frost with some "snow" on the hills?
Missed it all, but this was what was left :(

About -0.7C under the verandah on the leeward side and -3 C in the open.
It was actually frost, but it looked the part :)
Cheers
Rod

2014_07_18 The Day the Russians Shot down another Passenger Airliner

2014_07_18

My heart goes out to the people killed and their families Hopefully justice will not be denied.

on the model I will simply show pictures of Honeysuckle  which is to become the branch line Terminus.

This layout was built by Tony Kociuba to demonstrate McKenzie and HOlland signalling systems, and is in working condition. A little bit outdated for its original purpose, but should fill an empty space on my large layout. To the right of the picture you will see two unpopulated modules which sit between the two ends (end +new+middle+new+end)
Rod