Andrew Young Posted April 11, 2017 Author Share Posted April 11, 2017 More Distractions.... This week has seen a couple of short visits to the modelling bench attaching glazing and the seating into the RVR carriage. But as watching glue dry is akin to watching paint dry, you might prefer what took me away from the modelling bench last week.... So, last Tuesday, I turned 40 and I was treated to a long weekend away in the Lake District. Much fine food and fine ale was consumed, we also took trips out on the Steam Yacht Gondola on Coniston Water and the Ullswater Steamers with a good walk alongside Ullswater thrown in. There was a trip on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite on my birthday before coming home too, but the highlight was the Saturday. We spent the day in Eskdale with a good walk up around Dalegarth and Boot, with a fine pub lunch in Boot to keep our energies up halfway round. On our way up to Dalegarth in the morning, was treated to the best seat in the house on River Irt: The Best Seat in the House by Andrew Young, on Flickr Little Giant Refreshed by Andrew Young, on Flickr Glenridding Morning by Andrew Young, on Flickr Ended up at home for one night and one shift, then headed back off again... After a chat with Paul Martin at NG North, found myself heading up to Beamish to be his stand in Batman on the Thursday and Friday of the Great North Steam Fair as his usual Batman was unavailable. A chance not to be turned down! Thursday found me firing to Paul on the Coffee Pot, a truly wonderfully bonkers contraption! As you'd expect, being on the Coffee Pot meant we drank plenty of coffee: Coffee Time on the Coffee Pot by Andrew Young, on Flickr A nice surprise was that on the Friday, I was rostered to driver the Wren on the narrow gauge. As some of you might know, I rather like my Kerr Stuarts. Happiness is.... by Andrew Young, on Flickr Beamish is a fantastic place at the best of times, but with two narrow gauge locos, two standard gauge and a traction engine in steam there, the colliery area really came to life. The narrow gauge is a fun little triangular layout with a couple of sidings off and some fierce gradients making for some fun operation. This year there were two traction engines set up with saw mills at two corners of the line, with the Wren and Diana ferrying logs and cut timber around between the two, very much reminiscent of the Kerry Tramway for which Diana was built a century ago. Only being there for two of the four days and being largely busy, there was very little chance to see what else was going on over the site, though we did get good views of the numerous traction engines, steam rollers, steam lorries and new fangled petrol engined contraptions trundling round the road. Though I was given a pass out to take a look at Samson, which I'd not seen before and chanced upon River Mite in the yard there too. If you follow the link to my flickr album, there are plenty more photos on there: https://flic.kr/s/aHskXFwLXk Now, will have to go back to my copy of J.C.I Body's 'Lesser Known Rails in Mid Wales' and see whether the Melyn Valley ever had a timber tramway...? Cheers, Andrew 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted April 11, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 11, 2017 (edited) Blimey Andrew, how do you fit it all in, do you have a 36 hour day? Dave. PS Just looked through your photo site, wonderful stuff! I really must try and get to Beamish one day, its a long way from Devon. Edited April 11, 2017 by DLT 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Mike Bellamy Posted April 11, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted April 11, 2017 Just clicking 'Like' doesn't seem to be enough . . . . . . . . . what an amazing week ! ! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted April 11, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted April 11, 2017 Great Break. I was lucky enough to get a footplate ride on the Lakeside and Haverthwaite but nothing to match your week. Don 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted April 12, 2017 Author Share Posted April 12, 2017 Thanks gents. The Lakes visit was planned long in advance as I'd not been there for 32 years it turns out! The lakes are only 2 1/2 hours up clear roads for us and whilst we packed plenty in, it was from leaving home Friday lunchtime to returning Tuesday evening. The rest of the week was a tad more mental... But offers like that don't come around very often! So Wednesday was work 07:00-17:00, with some late running thanks to some numpty trespassing at New St taking a wander into the Stour Tunnel meaning I failed to get away ahead of Derby's rush hour. Drove up to Beamish where thankfully curry and beer were waiting. Did the two days up there before driving back getting home just after 21:00 Friday night. Thankfully a shortage of drivers on late shifts on Saturday meant that I could swap my 04:55 book on for a nice 15:33 book on going to Bristol... Was a case of returning to work for a rest working Sunday, Monday and tonight on lates and apart from a bout of the lurgy, looking forward to my day off tomorrow having recovered from last week's manic adventures! Would I do it again? In an instant! Cheers, Andrew 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKR Posted April 12, 2017 Share Posted April 12, 2017 Great Beamish photos. Loved that horn on the Napier... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted April 12, 2017 Author Share Posted April 12, 2017 Great Beamish photos. Loved that horn on the Napier... Thank you. Yes, we were up by their storage area waiting for our man with the car when we spotted it. Want one, but not sure how it'd look on my Golf... Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted May 1, 2017 Author Share Posted May 1, 2017 April turned out not to be the productive month of modelling I'd hoped it would be. Since turning 40 on the 4th, I've been mostly broken! Firstly, a cold turned into a nasty hacking cough for a couple of weeks, then no sooner had I overcome that then I tore some muscles in my neck and shoulder resulting in a course of diazepam from the doctor which doesn't exactly aid quality modelling! My modelling mojo has also suffered by the fact that glazing carriages is my least favourite part of modelling by a long way. However, as I type this, the Rother Valley carriage is now fully glazed (at the second attempt!) and had the interior fixed in place. Once the glue has cured, the roof can go on and be photographed once complete. Think I might tackle something more fun, like a loco, wagon or even some layout electrics before glazing the next one... might help the modelling mojo return! In between breaking myself, there has been some other progress. I became unhappy with my intention of using cassettes for the fiddle yard. Had experience of cassettes before in 7mm narrow gauge, I'm not convinced at how user friendly they are with the extra size and weight in standard gauge. So at NG North, ordered a Grainge & Hodder laser cut sector plate fiddle yard. It's one of their 'specials', a 3ft long table on a 3ft 8in board to allow space for spare loco's. I'm impressed with the Board as it's far squarer and truer than I could've managed for not much more than the cost of the materials in my local diy emporium. Whilst in the process of breaking myself at Easter (think as part of the tidy the railway working party- maybe I should stick to the more sedate driving?) there was also chance for a first drive on the Talyllyn for the season. Shall try not to break myself in May so there's more progress to report! Cheers, Andrew 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted May 2, 2017 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 2, 2017 (edited) In between breaking myself, there has been some other progress. I became unhappy with my intention of using cassettes for the fiddle yard. Had experience of cassettes before in 7mm narrow gauge, I'm not convinced at how user friendly they are with the extra size and weight in standard gauge. I would agree with that Andrew. In 0-Gauge cassettes get too big and heavy for easy handling. I've seen it done, but its a two-handed job to move a loco and I wouldn't fancy trying to lift a set of carriages at all. Sector plate/turntable is a much better idea. Cheers, Dave. Edited May 2, 2017 by DLT Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted May 2, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 2, 2017 I would agree with that Andrew. In 0-Gauge cassettes get too big and heavy for easy handling. I've seen it done, but its a two-handed job to move a loco and I wouldn't fancy trying to lift a set of carriages at all. Sector plate/turntable is a much better idea. Cheers, Dave. You particularly need care with ABC or Portescap powered locos as they will move with even a slight tilt of the cassette. However my local club has decided to use them on their 0 gauge layout so I have promised to make some. We shall see how it turns out . Probably at RAIL-EX Taunton. Don 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted May 2, 2017 Author Share Posted May 2, 2017 (edited) Thanks for the advice gents. Think it's the best way to go. One of my friends who would be one of the more regular visiting operators would also struggle to lift cassettes and was another factor so think the right decision has been made. Cheers, Andrew Edited May 14, 2017 by Andrew Young 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted May 15, 2017 Author Share Posted May 15, 2017 Life continues to be quite hectic, since the last update we've attended a wedding, continued with wedding plans of our own, had another gallivanting trip away (more later), attended to the house and garden and even been to work a few occasions... oh and tried not to get too distracted by the Cameo Layouts Competition or the arrival of the new Snailbeach book. During all this, have been at the modeling bench for some 'little and often' sessions to complete the first carriage. Been good to get through the glazing and roof stage which puts me off! The glazing is clear styrene (only took two attempts!) The glazing sits in a rebate in the sides, ended up glueing some retaining strips vertically between these to hold the glazing in, seems to have worked. Above the window line is a rectangular piece of 60 thou styrene holding the body square sitting on top of the window rebates. Both this and the floor have some holes drilled in them to allow the glue fumes to escape. On top of the styrene rectangle is fixed a piece of styrene strip along the center line to help support the roof. Having had issues with roofs before, spotted some ready curved styrene roof sections of the 7mm NGA stand at our members day in January for a pound or two each and picked up a couple of each of the two sizes. Cut one of the larger ones to shape, squashed it until it got to the curve I needed, glued it on and it seems to have worked a treat. Rain strips and ventilators were added before a coat of grey paint followed by some sooty black dry brushed / stipled on. Mentioned some gallivanting.... about 20 years ago, a group of Talyllyn volunteers started going to Woody Bay, then newly acquired by the L&B Trust and started digging holes which latterly had S&T equipment installed. Have been an intermittent visitor in recent years, but spent three days in early May in glorious sunshine playing trains with Isaac. There was also chance to explore some of the latest track bed acquisitions by the Trust: Not much gallivanting booked until early July now, he says with a day out booked in for Wednesday... so time to get back to wiring those baseboards. Cheers, Andrew 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted June 1, 2017 Author Share Posted June 1, 2017 Managing the little and often approach to modeling at the moment, current effort being soldering dropper wires on the station boards so the moment of truth as to whether anything will run over my attempts at track building is getting closer. Doesn't make the most interesting of photos mind... In my last post, mentioned a day out on the cards... my first memories of mainline steam is the Manor on the Cambrian in the mid '80s, one of my friends and colleagues is a driver on the Severn Valley and was invited to spend the day on 'Bradley Manor'. Spent most of the morning trip on the shovel, with nine coaches on, sounded really good! With seven on in the afternoon, I was allowed to drive the trip and had an excellent, if damp day. My friend is a great fan of footplate cooking, in addition to copious quantities of tea, we had breakfast cooked on the shovel at Kidderminster in the morning. During the day, a fine chicken curry with rice and naan breads was cooked for us to enjoy back on shed at Bewdley. Back home, this steaming beast was snapped from our lounge last week... Back to the soldering iron! Andrew 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Donw Posted June 1, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 1, 2017 There doesn't seem to be a button for lucky bu99er. You get some great trips. Don 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted June 1, 2017 Author Share Posted June 1, 2017 There doesn't seem to be a button for lucky bu99er. You get some great trips. Don Thanks Don, lucky to have friends who are happy to swap 'a play for a play'. Never been a huge big engine fan, but the Manor on a Western route with the Cambrian Coast Express headboard on was rather nice for someone who's spent a lot of time travelling by train over the Cambrian. Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted June 1, 2017 Author Share Posted June 1, 2017 Another session soldering droppers completed, a bit warm up in the attic today for more than an hour, plus the 3am alarm call this morning has sapped energy levels somewhat. A couple more photos from my Flickr page. Firstly my host, with the most: https://flic.kr/p/TDumbQ https://flic.kr/p/UkWPE1 https://flic.kr/p/TDukHA Cheers, Andrew 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted June 1, 2017 Author Share Posted June 1, 2017 Plus, couldn't resist taking a photo as close as possible to the one taken by my nine year old self. That's enough of photos from then for now. Shan't get chance to work on the wiring over the weekend, but fingers crossed for some cooler weather on Monday and Tuesday when I'll get chance to get back in the attic. Cheers, Andrew 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NeilHB Posted June 5, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 5, 2017 (edited) Good to see progress on the MVR Andy! Won't be too long now till the first train :-) Edited June 5, 2017 by NeilHB 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 The wet winter weather this week has made going into the attic quite pleasant to work on the layout. After a few sessions, all the dropper wires had been fitted to both main baseboards, two to each rail length as back ups. The next stage was to put all the electric string in, having made a start before, last night I had a late night / early morning session on the wiring with the election coverage on the tablet seeing as it was quite an interesting night.... By the time I headed for bed at 4am, I'd mostly completed the wiring on the first baseboard, with the exception of plug sockets for transferring the power to adjacent boards. Plus I need some correct size screws for the chocolate block connectors. By the time I went to bed, it looked like this: No prizes for spotting my deliberate mistake.... had an issue with wiring the two blue point machines, there's two diagrams with them showing the numbered pins in different positions with no suggestion as to which way round you're looking at the machine. Plus there aren't any numbers on the things themselves to guide you. Needless to say, it took two attempts to get it right and was easier to change the wires round in the connectors than to change over the soldered connections on the blue point operators. The result being that before work this afternoon, I got to do some testing / playing. 7mm NGA Convention in Burton tomorrow which will be a nice day out only 10 mins drive away. Cheers, Andrew 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 Well the rest of June flew by! When I last posted, the 7mmNGA Convention was just around the corner, a very good day was had as always, some decent layouts and a few traders to tempt my wallet. Put 'Sir Jasper' in the competition and pleased to be awarded the runners up award, This year's Nosbert making a suitable 'Sir Jasper' figure. Have completely finished wiring the first board before the weather got so hot that I had to retreat from the attic. Just the point control rods to add.. Rather enjoyed some extensive testing / playing trains which highlighted one or two issues with my track work, one point in particular. Thankfully, some tweaking of a check rail has sorted this out and now everything runs smoothly. Looking forward to the weather cooling down so I can crack on with the second board, sadly work intervened when it cooled down earlier this week. The study was one of the cooler rooms in the house during the hot spell, where a start was made in trying to make the Bachman Side Dump Cars look s but different (and less American) with new inside bearing chassis from styrene borrowing ideas from Tim's experiment. Rather pleased with how it went, so shall be making a few more in anticipation of when some narrow gauge might be added to the railway. I really should resist such distractions! Apart from the sunshine and work, there's been the Women's Cricket World Cup in Derby to distract, had a good (if sunburnt) day out and the first game, plus the Amerton gala which I managed to get over to, though no chance of sun burn there! Plus the garden has kept us busy, though we have had some help with the pruning... Cheers, Andrew 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold NeilHB Posted July 2, 2017 RMweb Gold Share Posted July 2, 2017 Good to see some progress Andy. The Nosbert really does make a great Sir Jasper! Can we borrow your neighbours please - there's plenty of garden here for them to come and assist with! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 2, 2017 Author Share Posted July 2, 2017 Can we borrow your neighbours please - there's plenty of garden here for them to come and assist with! Let me know when you're coming to round them up and I'll get some popcorn in for the show.... Cheers, Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 Been no Modelling to speak of in July, due to being on holiday. A fortnight in Tywyn, mostly spent driving on the Talyllyn Railway, with a couple of days off to do touristy things, a day driving on the Fairbourne and finally, a day throwing tokens and levers in a Blockpost. There are too many photos to post here, but have put a number in an album on my Flickr page for those who want to see them: https://flickr.com/photos/51784336@N05/sets/72157686458390365 Normal service will be resumed soon... Cheers, Andrew 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
81A Oldoak Posted July 21, 2017 Share Posted July 21, 2017 Been no Modelling to speak of in July, due to being on holiday. A fortnight in Tywyn, mostly spent driving on the Talyllyn Railway, with a couple of days off to do touristy things, a day driving on the Fairbourne and finally, a day throwing tokens and levers in a Blockpost. There are too many photos to post here, but have put a number in an album on my Flickr page for those who want to see them: https://flickr.com/photos/51784336@N05/sets/72157686458390365 Normal service will be resumed soon... Cheers, Andrew I think the Peppa Pig family and their bovine and sheepy friends will be avoiding the Tallyllyn Railway, even if Daddy Pig is a bit of an expert on narrow gauge railway operations. Regards, Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Young Posted July 21, 2017 Author Share Posted July 21, 2017 (edited) Chris, The Peppa Pig family and friends will be safe for the next six weeks or so as I'm back at work and not on the TR again for a while. Cheers, Andrew Edited July 22, 2017 by Andrew Young Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now