2021_10_30 Kilmore East visits Hobsons Bay Northern Division.

 2021-10-30 So a week in pictures and videos

LAYING MORE TRACK

And so after a month or so of running trains, we discovered a bottle neck. Trains heading out of Albury towards Junee, can climb up to the top level and proceed to the old helix. But sometimes trains rising over the old helix will block its passage. So I installed this crossing loop to open it up a little.

44220 crosses S313 at (new) Chiltern Loop.

42220 now has a clear track down helix to Wanganella.

IXION J CLASS problems

Out of the box I could not connect the tender to the J. No matter what! The electrical plug was loose and the connector bar would keep dropping out. So damn frustrating. I solved the problem, by super gluing an 8ba nut onto the pin locking the two together. I then used a lot of pressure on the electrical connector and managed to secure it finally. 

I reached a set of points that are perfectly aligned and give me no problems whatsoever. The train hit a brick wall and derailed. I then had to pull the engine                                                                           away from the track and found the brake gear had been ripped off the keeper plate.  With memories of the Trainbuilder X Class and K Class which also drops its brake gear (sih) ;) ok out with the super glue.

I will put up a video after the blog. After installing a DCC sound project (Thank you Mike)

Graeme improves the Tunnel on new Helix

Here we were widening the cutting to allow for the gangers to get their vehicles along side the track.

Repairing and preparing!  Ground cover next.

Graeme  decided the rounded off boulder look was not doing it for him :)  So out came the chisels.

Well worth the effort. I will paint over it and get rid of thestark whiteness of the plaster before we start making it look like rock.

Bunnings had  a cheap can of yellow pain, and so that becomes our base paint colour.

Nice job Graeme.

Really nice.

too wet to clean up just yet. But I will save some of those "boulders" to dress it up later.

SHORTS AND MORE DAMN SHORTS (cont)

As my regulars will know I have had serious wiring issues in recent months. With Steve up from Kilmore East we went around the top of the layout checking for wheels that might be bridging an insulated section of track. Eagle eyes Steve looks in the bogie exchange shed.

And lifts it off the layout to find this engine sitting underneath. Now the bogie exchange shed sits over the break of gauge and hides the fact that I really don't have a real broad gauge. However anything moving from the right to the left simulates the movement to the BG and it is the only place on the layout where trains can move from BG to SG and back again.

Under neath the fuel tank is a double insulator which means one bogie is sitting on BG circuits, and the other on SG circuits. When BG and SG are running in same direction, no problem! However reverse one and the persistent and frustrating short returned.

And of course I modifies other places trying to sort it out. 

I now have to go back and return these "modifications" to their original settings, because I have now to undo all the new problems I have created.

(Al will be smirking away..shut up Al !!)

ok will publish a couple of videos in a few minutes

Cheers Rod.

2021_10_09

 2021_10_09  OK need to cross SG trains here!!

Too many trains and not enough storage ;)

Aim today was to get a loop in and running. However I ran out of energy and light about the same time.

What was happening? Trains were being stored in track 2 (SG) on the old helix. Could fit up to 4 trains here, except they all needed to run in same direction. Track 1 (SG) was the through track in both directions.   Thus I needed to build the new SG loop to cross trains. It should fix the bottleneck. The existing SG track becomes the loop. Minor adjustments to the BG and the new track just needs droppers and the point to be connected. Now what will I call this loop??Maybe Chiltern?

Cheers                                                                                                                                                      Rod

2021_10_05 New Train-AV carriages

 2021-10-05  I purchased these three V cars from Allan Curtis.

Allan does some nice stuff, and you should get on his mailing list if interested.

A BGM brass locomotive substitutes for the SDS D3 which is very close to being delivered

So at this stage I have 3 V cars, but new cars are being produced, so I will see if Allan is interested in doing a couple more for me. These carriages are very nice.

First Class 23 AV

Composite car 24 ABL

Guards Van 2CV

And my old BGM D3 heads up the train.

our V set awaits departure of the morning pass to Wangaratta. In turn it will pick up and run to Fernleigh.  It will return  an evening train later today.

Cheers

Rod Young 

2021_09_26 More backdrops

2021-09-26  Yesterday Graeme came up with a plan!

We used thin masonite board to block the sharp edges and also block the bricks.

The masonite was wet down and bent to shape and allowed to dry. Not as easy as it looks.

We then need to attach the masonite to the brick piers and when they dry there to the wall under the windows.

 After gluing the bent pieces to the bricks they will be attached to the frame (top level) or glued to the wall on bottom level.

After that, cut to fit flat masonite between the piers. Might have to paint these sky blue before I glue them in place. Graeme wants the side edges beveled to allow the joins to be filled. Now all we need do is work out which glue to use?

Cheers

Rod

2021_09_21 Having too much fun, so today was a maintenance day!

 2021-09-21 Coal siding LED's are detaching and starting to hang down

And today one string shorted out. I removed the block connectors and fitted male and female spades. I san hot glue these to the frame and take a little pressure off the LED strips. I cant hot glue the strips on as the leds don't like the heat.

The problem is that I am not able to twist my old body into spots I could reach only a few years back. Wish I had done a better job then :(

BRASS BOGIES

For me, useless. Seem to be built for a show case! Fortunately with the help of a washer, these Auscision bogies work really well. I could not keep the axles in place, but now a small push and the coach goes half round the layout!  Well almost. Got to a hill and returned back to where I pushed it from.

Height right up next to a Powerline new series car. Happy with that.

FIXING LED LIGHT STRIPS

 

This old body needs a lot of help getting underneath the boards. Even a year ago I could have leaned under. But not today.

The lamp? the lamp? Turn it on champ!!

Both strips out. Power to block. So I got rid of block and replaced it with spade connectors.

Dimmer switches.

Next job will be to sort this all out. Main problem is the 4.03 AMPS. Even with all locos off track, it draws a lot of power. I think it might be the TAM Valley singlet switches, but I need to sort that out.

The blue meter is the fernleigh circuit with 16 Singlet switches and drawing 1.38 amps.

The Red Ramp Meter supplies total power 8 amps.  Circuit breakers are reliable now too.

Cheers

Rod

ps fixed the BG video by removing the duplicated part,

2021_09_18 Just running a few trains.

 2021_09_18   Running two different SOP's One for 60's and one for 90's

After the gauge went through to Melbourne, The Spirit of Progress was moved over to it and ran through to Sydney. At the same time a NSW train named the Daylight ran through to Melbourne.

Here I try to duplicate a little bit in HO scale

After the B Class diesels arrived, and before the SOP was transferred to the SG, the train was hauled from Wodonga to Melbourne by these diesels. The magnificent steam streamlined S Class were quickly withdrawn for highly political reasons. Their was an uproar as it was perceived the S Class ran a faster service and anyway it was much loved. 

The Victorian Government quickly decided in favour of the diesels and gas axed all the S Class engines. This was astonishing. as not even one of these iconic engines was saved for preservation.

Rod Young

2021_09_14 New Video Albury Locomotive change

 2021_09_14  Representing thru running between Sydney and Melbourne prior to 1980

Cheers

Rod

2021_09_12 I am still here :(

 2012_09_12  Life goes on.

So lock down is over for now.  Not sure how long that will last as the government seems to really enjoy their new jack boots.

However I have noticed so many folk are fairly depressed here in this country, and so I guess am I, as well

May God bless us all, and I pray that this will all finish sooner rather than later.

My layout is running fairly well. I have a few dead spots and a little derailing happening. In general I run a train and when it stops, I find out why, fix the problem and keep moving around the layout.

Sometimes its the rolling stock, sometimes the track, and fairly rarely these days, the wiring. Its a lot of fun, being able to operate the railway, however much better with friends around to enjoy it and the company.

I am presently upgrading old Powerline coaches. I am replacing the bogies and attaching them with screws after filling the large holes and drilling out the filler after filing everything neatly.

 As well I tossed the useless brass bogies under an expensive brass coach, They would not run 6 feet without derailing. And so I replaced  them with Auscision commonwealth bogies. tested the coach by lightly pushing it on the flat and it went 21 meters stopping only on the grade, and then returning to me within inches from whence it started. Never seen such a thing. Probably the weight?  But I am now working on some original (powerline) S cars and same bogies. Interesting to see how they roll.

Anyway, I am enjoying the job, so must get back to it.

Cheers all and Happy Railroading :D

Rod

2021_08_05 Drifting the Eureka R

 Thursday August 5-2021  Learning how to drift :)

Cheers

Rod

2021_08_03 Another modified Eureka R video.

 Tuesday August 03_2021  Testing the second Eureka R

When you click on video you can enlarge it and when you go to You Tube you can select HD.

Cheers

Rod

Monday 2021_08_02 Testing R719 on a small grade.

2021-08-02 Monday Testing a modified Eureka R Class.

Have two Eureka  R Class and f you have the smallest grade on your railway, they are about useless. Maybe decorate your display case if you can afford to.

However along comes a friend who has a solution. Thanks to  Mark Laidlay, and just under 10 grams of lead sheet around the motor and above the drivers, we have two very useful engines! Thanks Mark.

This video is HD, and if not, you can click on the you tube logo after opening the video. It will open the video in you tube allowing you to set it to HD and wide screen :)

Cheers

Rod

2021_07_13 Just playing trains (video)

 2021_07_13  47 very heavy bogies up the helix (Video)

Still uploading!   A bit slow today.

Cheers

Rod

2021_07_06 New Video

2021_07_06   Services on the Broad Gauge and the Standard Gauge have resumed.

 

Cheers

Rod

2021_6_30 Terra Forming

 2021_06_30 painting and ground work.....

I'm tired :(  so quick and dirty..  LoL

Dirty track? 

Cheers

Rod

2021_06_30 Valences and Diamonds

2021 06 30  Painting the valences and more electrical probs.

First coat of green paint.  Forgot to do this last year... Too much going on, I guess?

The new area looks great too. However its patchy and needs a second coat.

I just discovered another wiring fault.  These three diamond crossings are insulfrogs.   They actually power route and dont require insulating joiners or special wiring. (Unlike the electro frogs I used elsewhere.  :(

The blue (+ve) and orange (-ve) wire into BG circuit. The green (+ve) and yellow (-ve)  wire into SG circuits ...  another cross feed discovered! 

The other code 75 diamonds were electrofrogs and need to be wired differently. and they look much better as well.

Cheers

Rod