2015_07_07

2015_07_07  addendum Waiting for my P Class's  :(

Last weekend Graeme came back for more punishment, so we sanded and put a top coat over the cornice plaster joins (which were still slightly damp too.

Now we will leave it for a fortnight so I can attend the Model Railway Show at Stawell

Somebody asked what filler we used that was fast drying?? It was this one :D

Got a text message to tell me a parcel had arrived. Was only waiting for two, and as one was the video cameras from China, and they were post free which usually translates into 4 weeks , I thought the P classes had arrived.. YEIIIII!!

However on arrival at the PO, I found a typical Chinese wrapping and found myself in possession of a pack of surveillance cameras and a DVD recorder. I'm happy but really disappointed that the P's are still not here  :(

Oh well it will give me something to take my mind off the post for a day or two ;)

oops the zoom-able 340 rotation one is coming in a separate parcel it would seem
Cheers
Rod

Addendum  :D (near forgot)  CHILTERN shed arrived (well not really)
We elected to take delivery of it on the Thursday before Caulfield Exhibition when Matt will drive past on the way to the Exhibition, and hand it over / over a cup of coffee at Chiltern Bakery.

This shed will live at Wangenella ;) 
Might get a picture of the two sheds together and post it if we have time. So instead I have 3 pictures to keep me company till then

2015_06_28 Suns out!!

2015_06_2

Just setting up in the shed to do some more wiring, but after 20 hours the plaster is starting to dry. At least the lighter layers are. However the thicker work is still very wet. Lets hope the week is a little warmer than last one.

Ahhh!!  have to rejoin the old modules and solder those rails together. The damn rail was all we could use 30 years ago, old profile n scale rail hand spiked onto wood sleepers to give the correct light rail branch line look. However the new profile n scale track fish plates will not fit, and neither will the code 70, or code 75 ones (The old n profile is more like bull head rail with a small rounded foot rather than the traditional flat foot.)  I think I will have to reshape code 70 plates and solder them in place. Or perhaps cut a trip of brass and just solder it on the outer sides?

Cheers
Rod

2015_06_27

2015_06_27 Another Saturday rolling on...
So what happens Saturday?? Oh that's right Backboards are the current theme...


And here's Graeme :)

We top coated all the filler and now we need to sand it back. The way things are slowly drying around here, we decided to wait till next week, and perhaps we can undercoat it all.

 

Its an illusion it is a tough join but shadow is making it look worse than it is. The variation at the join is about 2mm  using a 3 foot straight edge

Its nice to have a friend who can motivate you, and has the skills to show you how, Thanks mate :)
Cheers
Rod

2015_06_25 Lazy Freezing Days of Winter!

 2015_06_25
Things are rather quiet here at Fernleigh Court.

But the check book is still hemorrhaging :)
Two 4L cans of plastic paint, 1 undercoat and the another Sky Blue.
More filler and a few tools to help get it all on.

Only problem is that the plaster will not dry (over two weeks and balls up when I sand it... It's just too damn cold :( )

I also decided to upgrade my computer to better manage Decoder Pro in the shed, and spending some time getting that up and running.

Got sick of the wiring, so planning a general tidy up whilst I wait for things to warm up a little.

I have a video camera and screen that I want to install so that I can watch stuff on the other side of the Island.  But it will not easily do the job. I found a Chinese company that will sell me 4 wireless cameras that will broadcast a 1080 signal and it offers clear reception in noisy environments as well as obstructed communication over 20 m. Too good to be true, especially as they have daily specials, and today they sold me 4 cameras, with a 10 inch monitor, and a terabyte of hard drive, recording to a 8 track 1080 Digital recorder. Normally $599 but one last superseded model, brand new for $375 (edit). I could have got a 4 camera wired version for $275 and a pack of 4 50 m cables for another $39

I wanted to get the LED light strings secured in place as well as the video cable in the tidy up.
Well now I don't have to worry about video cable, however I will need to supply 1 amp of 5 V Dc to each camera.

So that's about all I have to say Bye for now
Cheers
Rod

2015_06_06 (Back Drops)

2015_06_06 Heater on ,heavy cloud, but sun is shining most of the time.

Been crook most of the week. Kidney giving pain on Tuesday and could hardly walk Wednesday. Not sharp enough for a stone, so probably a chill. Feeling ok today, so Graeme decided to come over and give me another big push on the model railway. Nice mate he is too!!

So whilst Graeme (Schulz) filled up the gaps with plaster, I got to straigtening up the back boards and securing them as they were just loosely fitted.  We spent 4 hours on it and got a lot accomplished. I used a premixed Filler last Monday and it was still damp today. So we used cornice cement, this time and it did dry better, abling Graeme to get three coats on.
If you remember we had strengthened steel brackets set into the plaster to take the wobble out of the top deck and they had to be plastered over. Some pictures.
(Note it took half my time to finish clearing the decks, the remainder to secure the back boards to a new frame which helped straighten them all out)

The frame on top helps to increase the back board to 600 mm standard (Haskell back ground)  I will need to glue strips of Masonite on above original and fill it and sand it back.

Its a bit hard to see, however the painted back boards here rippled and were not flat, but now the top bracing has almost pulled it flat again. The joins are still wet a week after I applied selleys pre mixed stuff and will have to be replaced

Look no more steel support brackets :)

Really pleased with this, Tanks Graeme ;)

The join in front of the clamps has a lump of wood behind forcing it out of shape. Next job is to remove it to allow it to sit correctly.

Graeme says we can sand it back and put another coat over the top, before undercoating it all.

So much to do. The wiring is on the to do list as well :(

Cheers
Rod

2015_05_28

2015_05_28  Its raining!

Have not spent much time in the Studio, due to the wet weather, the Albury show, the cold, and maybe because I remain un-motivated.
Murray Railway Modellers Show went off with a bang, and everybody seems to have enjoyed themselves.
I can do no better than to introduce Andrew who did this photo essay about the star of our little show.



Andrews Trains on Town and Country

2015_05_13 ELNemo arrives with a cold snap

2015_05_13  But that's not all, and looks can be deceiving!!

I am still packing things up and throwing out stuff to make more room.  Stuff I have stored for 40 years, is worthless and will never be used (or missed) has gone in the bin. Hoarder? who me? Well at least I had no trouble tipping whole boxes in the bin, most of the time only roughly checking out the contents. Things like PMG relays 100's of them!  Miles of single core cable which should never have been used in the first place, much less any more. Old transformers and electrical's that just don't have any value any more. All the short offcuts of wood so hard to store, but will make good kindling for the fire. And still another skip full to go :(
All the trains loose buildings and un-built kits are packed away, and the final clean up will not take long to enable me to start on some scenery. Cant squirt white glue all over a populated layout. Backdrops need patching and painting. Scenery needs to be started. So lets go.....

Ah but the subject of the post is deception?  So lets see what that is all about ;)

Now that's a pleasant surprise :D
For those who can wait a ready to run set should eventuate from Auscision as reported here
RUB Set
Cheers
Rod

2015_05_07

2015_05_07  Well things have slowed down a bit, I guess (Can they really slow down more?)

Work has continued slowly in the back ground, even so.

Main jobs have been to continue sound installations in the  back log of locomotive, and as all the easy ones are finished the T, Y, X and A-B Classes are coming along very slowly, indeed.

Have got a major layout project started. I want to get on with the scenery. But each job I start leads to another job.

The branch line (second hand modules of Bullarto and Trentham) need rejuvenating, so all the old trees have been removed in readiness for new ground cover and new trees.
The back drops are damaged. They need washing down and repairs, almost certainly roughed up with sand paper and repainted.
Plans are in hand for some photographic back drops as well.

When that is done, the buildings need placing, the ground cover applied, then ballast, fences and telegraph poles :)

Then I can plant the damn trees that started off this scenery effort.

The last couple days saw a trip to Bunnings and I returned with 5 new plastic bins. Into which was carefully placed all the locomotives and rolling stock, which did not fit in the Auscision boxes I already had.

So now the layout is bare of trains. I will now find a place for all the tools buildings and completely bare the layout then clean it down so I can paint and fix the back drops.

Some pictures of a parcel and starting to clear the decks!

Listen up!! Postie has been :D

I already know whats in here, but still worried that Stuart was able to pack it up to beat the roughest mail van.

All is well :D   It arrived safe and sound, thanks to the special laser cut box built to transport it here. I sat it near the Wodonga turntable for effect.. Nice huh?. This will go on the South Grafton module which I will renovate and install as my NSW connection.  Albury is just too damn big to be built in a room this size. :(  And South Grafton was already built, so why not :)

 

 Finding enough boxes to store the models whilst I work on the scenery.

The decks are clearing (Can you see the new Bullarto Station building?)Cheers

Rod

2015_04_10 Grafton Shed (Engine)

2015_04_10  Well its getting cooler ;)

Still plugging away at fitting sound on the two C Class. It is a nightmare but I progress a little bit each day. I have so little room to mount the extra pieces, and even the thickness of wiring can make or break the installation. Latest advance was to drill through the fuel tanks and connect the bogies underneath electrically with connections using the decoders very light wiring on top gaining some more clearance. Should have finished today, except that I added marker lights, didn't I? ;)

I am getting ahead of myself here, but the opportunity arose for me to buy a roundhouse for the South Grafton layout.  I intend to use this part layout as my NSW connection, mainly due to the impossible size of  Albury done correctly.
Anyway more about that later.
Some pictures sent along by Stuart Walker who owns and operates Model Train Buildings
Stuart would love to chat with you about any special buildings you may need?

Cheers
Rod

2015_03_26 Cool day Still doing sound!

2015_03_26

Well still moving along slowly :)
Started on a couple of C Class conversions, installing Loksound Decoders, LED headlights and markers. Need to fill the cow catcher and install KD's as well. Probably means that I need to file off the detail and attach hosebags as well.

So lets look at some of things I have had to think about?

The black one is a late series Austrains chassis weight

 An early attempt on the older weight left me with a broken weight, and it allowed the chassis to flex.

(funny how you don't notice a derailed wheel, or a body piece back to front, till the photo is published :(  )

Plus it took a lot of weight out of the model

 The new weight is heavier around the cab, and possibly would allow for trimming now?

This is what I removed (and I need to take a further 2mm off for better clearance)
Instead of using the larger speaker I am going to use a 16 x 25 x 7.9 speaker which I have been happy with in my T Class conversions. I will also wire in a tiny cell phone speaker to balance the sound.

I drill out the bulk of metal, lightly grind away the bulk of whats left and then saw cut and using a 1 inch wide belt sander clean up the surface allowing the speaker to fit tightly

This means the weight remains intact and supports the plastic chassis.The photo shows another version of a conversion by James of VR Enthusiasts.

Cheers
Rod