SRman's Current Layout - Newton Broadway

[SRman]

Just for fun: an 'aged' monochrome version of one of the previous pics.




I know I should have taken that concrete hut off before posing the pics ... I forgot!

[SRman]

Well, thanks to St Enodoc of this parish, who very kindly sent me some spare PC/HMRS pressfix transfers he had, I now have Great Western transfers of the correct size and style to not only do the "G W" lettering but also the numbers and weights. I have made a start on the Mink wagon, removing the prevous smaller "G W" letters, and replacing with the scale 25" letters. I have also added the weight and tare inscriptions on both sides, but not the actual wagon number, yet. The close-up photo also highlights a couple of very minor paint touch-ups required.

[SRman]

A few rather diverse arrivals have been seen at Newton Broadway.

For the 1950s to '70s, I bought some Dapol 6-wheel Unigate Creameries milk tankers. While these are probably not as good as the Hornby models, they are at least obtainable, and also a bit cheaper. A couple of them are seen here with a Bachmann N class 2-6-0, 31860, which I have heavily weathered.






For the more current scene (1990s, possibly 2000s), Bachmann's EWS inspection saloon lobbed in today. I have posed it with EWS 33 030. This locomotive came from Heljan's earlier class 33/0 mouldings with the somewhat flattened roof profile and slight "shoulders" to the edges of the cab roofs. I have filed the cab roof profile down a bit towards the sides, then repainted them.




 

[St Enodoc]

A few rather diverse arrivals have been seen at Newton Broadway.

 

For the 1950s to '70s, I bought some Dapol 6-wheel Unigate Creameries milk tankers. While these are probably not as good as the Hornby models, they are at least obtainable, and also a bit cheaper. A couple of them are seen here with a Bachmann N class 2-6-0, 31860, which I have heavily weathered.

 

 

 

 

For the more current scene (1990s, possibly 2000s), Bachmann's EWS inspection saloon lobbed in today. I have posed it with EWS 33 030. This locomotive came from Heljan's earlier class 33/0 mouldings with the somewhat flattened roof profile and slight "shoulders" to the edges of the cab roofs. I have filed the cab roof profile down a bit towards the sides, then repainted them.

 

 

 

Have you run the milk tanks yet? One of the BRMA guys in Sydney couldn't get them to stay on the track. Problem solved by fitting Hornby wheels.

[SRman]

I have only shunted them back and forth a few times. No derailments yet, but I am aware of some others having problems with them. I bought them quite prepared to do a little hacking!

 

From another BRMA member's set of these models, I know they are a tad light in weight - easlily fixed.

I also know from our old exhibition layout that the same tankers tended to pivot slightly on their centre axles. I propose to do what I did for the Bachmann N's tender centre axle; that is, to drill the axle holes vertically upwards slightly to form an oval that allows the axle a little bit of vertical movement.

I haven't had too many problems with Dapol's wheels to date but I do have plenty of spare Hornby wheels too. The wheels they supplied with the Esso class B tank wagon kit had very sharp flange edges and they tended to split some facing points - that was fixed by using Hornby or Bachmann wheels.

[Gwiwer]

Nice haul Jeff!

 

I had to re-wheel my Dapol milk tanks with Hornby wheels as the indigenous ones would not rotate freely no matter what I tried.  Three axles on a short wheelbase wagon leaves less "give" to remove and replace those axles which made the job - on all eight in the rake - a right b****r.  The pair of Dapol-weathered tankers (as opposed to the weathering I've added to the operational rake) which I regard as non-runners have not been re-wheeled; they sometimes appear dumped in the shed area but never in a train as they too have the same problem.

[SRman]

The gentleman I referred to earlier with the running problems actually removed the centre axles completely at one stage, as an experiment. The running was perfect as 4-wheelers!

Anyway, I have now test run my seven milk tanks at high speed (i.e. flat out for the Heljan 33/2!), and there were absolutely no problems apart from my not putting one of them on the track properly, to start with.

I did a quick video with some high speed run pasts for the camera, with a few extra vans added, as well as more normal running speeds. All tests were entirely successful and showed no problems at all.

Note: that is a typo of mine in the title page - it is a 33/2, not a 33/1 hauling the train. Edited July 19, 2016 by SRman

[SRman]

Way back, almost lost in the mists of time in my workbench blog, I started a Golden Arrow Productions ex-LSWR G16 4-8-0T, using a Hornby Stanier 8F chassis (sort of appropriate since the G16s finished their lives rated as 8F). While it has been operational for some time, I haven't finished the painting and decorating. That has taken a leap forward this evening, because I have put on all of the transfers except for the Feltham shed code and the overhead warning flashes. It is now numbered 30495, the last of the batch of four of these machines, and one of two to survive well into 1962. Up to now, the TCS M1 decoder has been left at address #3, but I can now give it a proper number (#495).

If you think the glossy smoke box door looks odd against the rest of the smoke box, it is because I needed a glossy surface for the waterslide transfers I used for the number. The rest of the transfers are from P.C./HMRS, of the pressfix type. The tiny 8F power classification above the numbers on the bunker side really taxed my eyesight!






Still to do on the G16 are varnishing the whole thing to protect the transfers, add lamp irons, glaze the cab spectacles, put some coal in the bunker, and weather the lot.

The ex-SR 'Pill Box' brake van is built from a Cambrian kit and pre-dates the Bachmann model.

[DougN]

SRman when your ready to do a bit of painting sing out as we can fire up the air brushes. Also as I have mentioned before the satin black spray cans from Tamiya are very good. Then spray the matt black from humbrol to the foot plate, the smokebox and any where else for matt back. The "grey black" of the humbrol does seem to work well. 

[SRman]

I have been laying a little more track in the fiddle yard of the upper level. It doesn't look like much, but this represents an afternoon's work!





 

The two 4 CEP units were on the line to gauge the length I need for the two units plus an MLV. 

[P.C.M]

Some good progress Jeff, 

Will it be running by next week.

 

Cheers Peter.

[SRman]

Some good progress Jeff, 

Will it be running by next week.

 

Cheers Peter.

 

[Wiping tears of hysterical laughter from eyes!]

 

No, Peter, it won't be running by next Saturday, but I hope it will be a little more presentable for then!

Edited August 14, 2016 by SRman

[SRman]

Just a little more done this morning, straight after getting up.

The tracks are only lightly pinned at the moment, to allow for adjustments when I test the clearances properly.




Still more to go, but doing a bit at a time eventually gets the job done.

Edited August 14, 2016 by SRman

[SRman]

And a few more from today's track laying sessions.








And one, just for fun, showing my Bachmann SECR C class 0-6-0 with a 17 wagon pre-grouping goods train on the viaducts along the front edge of the layout.




I think that's my lot for today. I have a bit more work to do tidying up both the layout and the train room (not to mention the house), in preparation for the BRMA meeting I am hosting this Saturday.

[P.C.M]

Hi Jeff,

Stop wiping the tears from your eyes and lay some more track. See you tomorrow looking forwards to seeing that top section running.lol

 

Cheers Peter.

[SRman]

Having bought a Zimo MX645 sound decoder with YouChoos's S15 sounds installed, I have updated the speaker installation in the Hornby S15 now, after initially fitting a smaller speaker a few days ago that was easier to fit. I had to trim some of the square base plate from the QSI 28mm hi-bass speaker to then fit it below the tender weight, which still sits a little higher than it used to - I have used some Blu-tack and black-tack to anchor it in place. The speaker itself has had all the edges sealed against the grille in the tender's baseplate so that the tender body acts as the sound chamber. It was all a very tight fit, and I thought I might have to cut a hole in the coal space to allow bits to poke through, but I *just* managed to get it all inside without any modifications.

I was so busy soldering wires and seating everything that I forgot to take any photos of the internals to show how it was all done.

I have done a new video to show off the slightly better bass response for the YouChoos sounds. Also in the video is my Hornby Q1 with a fairly recent iteration of the Howes steam sounds, which has coasting, light and heavy power sounds according to the throttle settings.

Forgive a couple of slightly shaky camera bits, but I was using my phone again. It's picture quality is not as good as my proper video camera, but it does have two microphones which give a rather nice stereo effect, and this vid is more about the sounds than about the visuals.

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[/url] Edited September 16, 2016 by SRman

[SRman]

There is still much to do with regards to tracklaying and scenery on Newton Broadway, but most of it is dependent on doing things in the right order. However, a few bits are half ready. Some time ago I made up the 'skeleton' of Newton Church Hill, and left it painted dark brown, just before a BRMA meeting. 

I seem to be hosting one BRMA meeting per year, usually in August. For the following meeting (last year), I added some road textures from Scalescenes and pavement from Superquick, with a very small amount of grass and a couple of trees, just to "beautify" it a bit. For this year's meeting, I did nothing new apart from tidying it up a bit.

It looked a bit dreary, but I haven't really finished the landscaping yet - it needs some more packing and a bit of plastering to do it properly - but I don't feel like doing the messy stuff at the moment, so I decided to do a layer of grass material to liven it up a bit until I am ready to  make a mess again. 

The results to date are shown in the photos. There is a staircase to go in leading down from the church and upper car park to the access laneway below, and I plan to do some rough stone retaining walls where the cutting is, and also at the edge of the drop from the upper car park. The lower level will become part of the cemetery.

 

Edited September 20, 2016 by SRman

[Gwiwer]

Starting to look good Jeff.

 

I guess being Spring it's a time when many of us here dust things down and prepare for another season whether we work indoors or out.  There's quite a bit going on here too despite the probability of a closure notice being served soon.

[RodneyV]

Hi SRman,

 

As a matter of interest, what are the dimensions of the space the church is occupying.

My wife hinted a church would be a great scenic feature for my layout and your guidance would be appreciated.

 

Thank you

 

Rodney

[SRman]

Hi Rodney.

The church is approximately 20 cm along the side (facing left in the photos) and a shade under 19 cm across what I have as the front, where the access road and car park is. The rear part is narrower without the tower.

From those dimensions you can judge roughly how much land is around it.

The church itself was the second one produced in Hornby's Skaledale range. I think it is the largest church they have produced, to date, but there have been others in the range.

I hope that helps a bit.

[RodneyV]

Hi SRman,

 

That is perfect. Thanks for your response.

I'll keep an eye out for churches in the area I am modelling and see if something approximating them comes out.

Well that is the plan anyway!

[DougN]

SRman, Don't forget I have the static grass applicator (and a pile of grass as the Woodlands scenic's  jars have heaps in them. So if you would like to borrow it, it is in its box!    

 

Looking good and with the holidays at the moment you should be getting a heap done on the layout. I am looking forward to seeing the other end of the layout with a train running or 2! 

[SRman]

Doug, I wasn't sure whether to click the 'thanks' icon or the 'funny' one!! Trains running on the other end?? Ha ha!!

Actually, I do want to get some carpentry done during this holiday, if the weather permits, and also my shoulders and back.

Once I get the church hill properly sculpted (another job for this holiday), I will take you up on the kind offer for the static grass applicator. I would like some longer grass in the cemetery area and the rougher slopes of the hill. Many thanks for that offer. Mrs SRman and I will try to catch up very soon with you, Mrs DougN and Miss DougN (in the absence of Master DougN - when is he due back?).

[DougN]

Master DougN was in Yeppoon yesterday and is expected back at DougN towers on Monday late in the afternoon. 

 

By all accounts all of the performances have gone well. (Rockhampton x2, Yeppoon x1)  WE can show you the Facebook pages over the weekend. 

 

Ms DougN is enjoying the brother freezone at the moment..

[SRman]

Yet another new locomotive has arrived, although originally pre-ordered back in 2013. Model Rail Magazine's ex-Southern USATC Dock Tank 30064 has arrived from Kernow Model Rail Centre. I asked them to include a Bachmann decoder in the box, but they actually fitted the decoder as well, so many thanks to them for the extra service.

The front three-quarter view is actually stitched together from two photos with slightly different focus lengths, so forgive a couple of ragged edges - it's not the model or the modelling!






It runs nicely, although there is a very slight stiffness still, even after running in both directions on the rolling road for an hour in total. A bit more running should cure that.

The paint finish is superb. I have not added any extra bits yet, either, although you'd hardly think so to look at the detail already on the model.