2020_09_28 End of month catch up!

 2020_09_28  As I progress with the rewire I find strange unexplained faults!

(Remember this is the struggle of an old fart to run a few trains one day)

Power is now routed out of Allandale and works to the second points arriving Bullarto..   and an area that has worked well since we re-laid the track here is now a short circuit and it is only when the point lays toward the platform.  Only after I climb on the stool, is it all revealed. We installed a code 70 shinoharo point here, because I ran out of the scaleways right hand versions I was using....

And I forgot to cut it up and make it DCC friendly.  I have no idea why it did not fail during installation?? Perhaps I did not test it?

Hoping I have not messed up all the packing Al, painstakingly leveled the point with.  :(

Anyway I found another point with a broken throw bar. Repaired it and fitted it in. It was an exact replacement for the old shinoharo. Note the frog is a casting and is not connected. A dead frog. which allows most locomotives to cross with out interruption.  But I do attach a wire to it and convert it to live frog via a Tam Valley juicer or a switch on the point motor.

Point installed and tested ok.

But thats not the end of this. Moving over to Trentham where I have found more dead track sections. Thats for next time and will be much easier.   Wow I am nearly there!

McKenzie and HoLland were in attendance this weekend.

The Honeysucle replacement frame ??

Tony works on the locking tray.

The first part of the birthing process The basic frame Eh? zygot??

The bits bin.  Looks like a Mechano set, sort of?

The first part of the lever  with a number already installed.

It needs a handle pinned on, a rod to unlock it and a spring return, before installing it to the frame.

Tony is moving along. Only one burn this time when he disrespected BIG Bertha!

On Sunday with Tony returning to his home, I got a visitor from the other side of the "Cold Wall"

Playing with back drops? At least painting them.

The blue is the same darker blue used to paint the wall. The white had a little black mixed with it to simulate clouds.  In this case to lighten the blue.

The two rollers were used in matching paint trays, however they were allowed to contaminate each other on the wall.   This allowed the sky blue to lighten close to ground and get back to blue higher up. This should help to create some distance after we cut out back drop pictures and adhere them to the bottom of the boards. 

I bet you know we are not looking forward to this attempt after all our failures.Thanks Graeme for all your great ideas :D. I like this effect

Cheers                                                                                                                                                      Rod 

2020_09_17 part 2

 2020_09_17 (still)  Played with some lighting today as well.

Now some of you might rightly say that SAR ran large reflectors on their vans. However regulations in Victoria insisted that oil lamps or electric red lights be placed on the rear vehicle of all trains running in Victoria.

The easiest way of doing this,because SAR vans had electric generators fitted, was to replace the reflectors with electric lights and reflectors built into the red shades.

I guess these 8300 Class vans are among the earliest plastic models I purchased of Australian prototype.

Probably the best of the old Aussie Lima from the 70's.

Unfortunately the plug in bogies are unique to the 8300 and I will modify them if necessary. At the moment i will just see how they go.

These did a lot of miles at the Hobsons Bay club at Docklands Melbourne.

So I needed pickups. And I had some nice ones from Blacksmith, but could not find them. So I cut up some circuit board sleepers the width of the bogie frame. 

I was, however, prepared for the job, having bought some phosphor bronze wire for another project.

I tinned them.

measured out the length of the wipers.

connected wires.

superglue' the wipers to the bogies and let them dry. Before this I painted the interior of the vans with matt black, I hoped this would stop the light bleeding through.

 

Unfortunately the black paint was not good enough for the job on the yellow vans.

I found these globes to be too bright. Hopefully I can turn them down and the bleed will be taken care of.

I have two old red vans and these have been turned back to 2.3 volts, and look much better.

Cheers

Rod.

2020_09_17

 2020_09_17 Tail lights and other things!

This new line was purchased to help me place DCC sound boards in older locomotives.

It certainly looks as if it can help things along.

Fitting the 21 pin decoder

Jurgen Engel normally paints these figures on O gauge. I asked him to paint the new HO versions. He was a little reluctant, however decided to give them a try.  Super stoked with the results. 

We altered the colors to suit Victorian engine men.

And so here we have part of the Hansons Quarry. The main building will sit up slightly behind the hill, and will feed graded crushed rock down a conveyor to track for loading. Not sure I can work with the loading bins provided. We will see.

This building will be built up double size and the windows and doors modified to represent the Pivot Fertiliser shed at the coal sidings.

PikeStuff kits are highly custom able, and I believe the windows etc are marked on the inside and can be cut out to suit your building.

I think, painted white and with a corrugated iron rail, unloading bay on one side, should look the part. 

TrainBuilder E Car side lights and tiny Chinese leds.

Small and a pity it did not have the handle on top. But very nice and am sure people can add it.

Putting these on my ZLP from Trainorama The provided lamps shown as comparison.

This tiny red LED was so tiny, I can hardly see it until I used macro here.

Tried to pullit through the lamp this way, it was slightly too large. I will probably open out the hole just a little.

Just to show how tiny the lamp is.

And so I drilled out the bottom and fitted the LED in and got this result. I will blank out the front of lamp with a solid lens and  fit white lights to the markers on the front of the van. Not a real problem as I intended using the 5 finger big hook to reverse the vans at terminal stations.

I really like these.