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

2015_03_21 Yackandandah Festival W/End

2015_03_21

So I finally got the inside "office" stocked with all my sound gear (Loksound and tools anyway)

So you would think the output would be improving?

I have worked on three engines The first an X Class in VR is running sounds great but the body is under tension and keeps unclipping. So I will have to dismantle it and make some changes. But I will make the changes in the second one to make sure they work.

The second one is causing me grief as I have difficulty adding marker lights. Not enough room, and my adhesives are just not holding Thanks to James who posts on VR Enthusiasts, I have come up with a fix. So here are some pictures of the engine, which I seem to have found enough space to get the top down flush. I had to leave a circuit board out and use tiny resistors to find more room.

The Last two shots are of the old Powerline 830 which now boasts kd's marker lights and a silent decoder. The problem with it is that it has an open frame motor, has not run for 15 years and corrosion had stopped the pickups from working. The slightly smaller flanges on this model, do clear the Code75 dog spikes, just!!

So not a lot to show for a few weeks work, but progress never the less!

hmm wonder where the headlight dropped out/?  You know how bad your eyes are when you only see things in pictures.

Lens glued in with Krystal Kleer  So I need to wash down the front to clean up spills.

Headlights and Marker lights, buffer filled in. Just a few steps and I think I will leave it as is. I have found some hose bags. They will be added, too bare isn't it?

Found the whistles,and wondering how I would go about thinning and adding to handrails.
Cheers
Rod

2015_03_20 I now walk every day, out with the trees!

2015_03_20

Trees!!  Trees and more trees :D

Still waiting on some leaves and deciding how I am going to do the trunks. I have great ideas from many of my friends, but I am not convinced that I can't find a quicker and better way to make them.
When the material I ordered arrives I will take a break and spend some time on trees :)
(Click on pictures for larger image)

Cheers
Rod

2015 March St Patricks Day for sure! for sure!

2015_03_17

Working on sound
Tried fitting out an old Powerline 830. 4 hours in and nothing works, and I have no idea why. The motor spins on a 9 volt battery Every wire connects to the right decoder wire and I get an LED flash and power goes down on Decoder Pro. Decoder tests just fine, disconnected :(

Got two X Class fitted with speakers and Loksound 4.0 DCC sounds decoders and having trouble getting body to fit on one. Pictures later.

The 930, 44 Class sounds?   Used an older engine because the correct one sounds awful, almost like an EMD :(

Cheers
Rod Young

2015_03_10 Home Sweet Home.

2015_03_10

Disappointment with Sandown turned into a nice day at Kyneton.
Stayed the night at Tony's place in Bendigo and called in to PC Hobbies on the way home.
Took little out of Sandown, more out of Kyneton, and a lot more from PCB Hobbies :)

Now I have to save up for Caulfield :)

Some Pictures!  Claim bragging rights (just remember my store shopping is very limited, and I only get to do this once or twice a year)

Coolum Design Laser cut wood kit Single road small country loco shed for branch terminus
Model Train Buildings  on Face Book

Coolum Laser Design Coolum Beach Laser Design

Walthers Kit

 Corn silo But it will become a wheat silo on the Branch

Walthers Corn shed. Going to use this for Uncle Bens Wodonga.

Couple of nice books. Gerald was not only an Elite Engineman with the VR, he was a gentleman and a fine Boss to boot. We really loved this fellow, and I was very happy to be the first cleaner to sit a Drivers exam with him when he took on the job as Examining Officer at Dynon. We spent three hours under R707 at Spotswood servicing the Loco whilst I had a verbal Drivers exam. Talk about putting a cleaner at ease. Even so I failed a safe working question and had to return later to finally get my ticket :(

Ian Wilson sold this one to me at a nice price.  Can't resist a T :D

Ian was also selling TrainBuilder stuff, and it looks like I might have been lucky to find this one, as they have been sold out for a month.

Coolum Beach Laser Design, made this wood kit. It is the original  Station Building at Bullarto
http://modeltrainbuildings.com.au/

 Brass cast signal gates from Broad Gauge Models at Kyneton See their adds in Australian Railway Modeller.

Tri Axle bogies for my US and European trucks.

Another couple of signals for the SG

Here is the scrap roads :)   Some bought as spare parts but all work just fine. So they need sound decoders as they are all still DC

I have a pretty low tolerance when I find I have acquired junk. You know that of course. This is a cheap KMart /Big W vacuum cleaner. It required two empties to vac out the Rover. Both times little rubbish but blocked filters. Now my house is tiny and has carpet in two 3m square bedrooms, rest is tiled.    I need to empty this three times to complete the house. I have asthma and hay fever and each time is a real effort as dust explodes out of the filters. The damn thing sounds powerful and yet 5 minutes after you start using it the red light comes on, as it loads up and stops sucking.
Well this does suck. So the third time I ever used it I failed to vac the House despite cleaning the filters out twice. So I put it through the Rod Young fail test. Holding the

hose I swung the thing around in the air three times and bounced it off the wall. I did this twice and could not break it. But although it passed this test with flying (helicopter??) colours it goes in the skip tomorrow..mumble ...mumble....  grumble.....

Cheers
Rod Young