SRman

A new video I did this morning. It highlights a few minor problems to iron out, but overall I am quite pleased with it. It gives a driver's eye view of each of the lines in the motive power depot and goods sidings, and also shows trains being driven into the appropriate roads for storage. I edited out the big hand from the sky changing the points throughout the video session.

Returning to the ex-LMS CCT, a first coat of paint has been applied to the body and a few underframe parts. I used a Revell colour SM331 which I thought approximated BR 1950s crimson - as can be seen when posed against Hornby's ex-LMS horse box, the colour match was closer than I expected. I think I'll keep using this colour and once weathered slightly will blend right in.

The carriage shed works continue: I have added some wall cappings and painted the brickwork a brown shade. This shows first coat only so far. I'll try to represent the mortar courses and weather it to suit the location later.

Not quite ready for another layout yet. Give us a few months!

Not resting on my laurels (yet!), I have constructed a couple of low brick walls to raise the Ratio carriage shed. Each wall is made up of two thicknesses of plastic sheet, and two layers of Slater's plastic brick sheet. They have 5½ rows of bricks, and any gaps at the bottom will be hidden by landscaping textures once I get to the scenic side of things. I still need to add some wall capping between the support pillars.

This morning was spent on wiring and laying the last bits of track to complete the electrification of the engine shed and yard: in fact, it mostly completes the track for the entire layout. I have populated the shed, with every single loco and unit having been driven in under its own power, so I now have quite a sense of achievement. Of course, I now have to paint and ballast the track, although I want to give the effect of cinder bed for the shed area, plus a little bit of hard standing in front of the shed. The carriage shed sits a tad low, so needs to be raised a bit. I'm thinking of building a couple of low brick walls for it to stand on. For the layout upper level as a whole, the next stage is to create a control panel, and wire up all the point motors. I will use the tried and true probe and stud contacts, as per the underground section before.

As a slight diversion this evening, I built another of the Parkside kits I bought recently off a fellow BRMA member. This time it is an LMS/BR CCT motor car carrier. It has the now customary metal wheels and brass bearings, and also some rather nice turned brass buffers. I seem to have introduced a slight twist in the body, but I cannot see where it occurs. It rolls freely enough and the wheels sit squarely on the track. The closer photo is deceptive because of camera lens distortion. The photos each show different sides and ends. This is unpainted at present, and I have yet to fit the NEM coupling adapters and couplings.

Sibling affection.

"Sarah Siddons' has made her way under her own power via each of the engine shed roads in turn, to rest in the first of the EMU sidings. Unfortunately, due to space restrictions, I will only be able to fit two or three car EMUs or DEMUs. The works have inevitably disturbed a few things, but I'll fix that all up once my track labours are finished. Only one point and two more roads to go.

The panto kept springing up but I have now got it to lock down. One more 3-way point wired up and another length of track connected. These are not pinned down yet, but a quick test with 'Sarah Siddons' showed all was well. The adjacent line into the engine shed will be done soon, with only two wires required for the feeds (I will use a single length of flexi-track bullhead rail), as will the next track over. Note that I have shifted this last on slightly to make room for the next one over, removed from the carriage shed to leave only one covered track. The right-hand point has to be wired up, but only required the one frog juicer, so I am on the home stretch. The view at the back of the engine shed shows I have trimmed the track and added a Peco sleeper-built buffer stop recycled from a much older layout. I may have to get a couple of new ones and paint and weather them properly. Also visible over the far side is one of three further buffer stops I assembled from Mike's Models white metal kits last night. The one on the right, above, was one of the first two I did prevously for this area. The very first one terminates the siding on the other side of the main running lines, and was built last year. While these are simple kits, it is difficult to keep them square because there are absolutely not locating pips or holes to keep parts together while the glue dries - I used small clamps, but they could, and did slip on occasions. P.s. I must glaze the windows in that red Bedford HA van (a Taylor Precision Models car kit).

It was very satisfying to find a fairly simple fix. Let's face it, though, John; you and I are obviousy both sad cases!!

Here's a slight diversion completely out of left field: I put a couple of bids in at Abbey's Auctions, for some US models. I don't normally go for American stuff at all, but the old HO scale De Witt Clinton set always appealed to me so I bid on that - but I didn't win that one- and there was a Pennsylvania GG1 electric loco, a type that belongs in the display cabinet as one of the iconic locomotive types. I won the GG1 for the princely sum of just over $43 Australian, including the auction house's fees. I picked it up today, as Abbey's Auctions are just on the 5km radius limit imposed on us during the current lockdown. I really wasn't worried if it was a non-runner, because the body, paintwork, glazing, horns and pantographs were all in pristine condition (well a couple of slightly rusty spots on the pantos). A quick test on DC power showed tht there was life but something was sticking. The body slips off after easing four clips, and that revealed two separate can motors with large flywheels driving each bogie independently through short cardan shafts and gear towers. More testing showed that one end was turning freely but the other was binding. A few exploratory tests showed the binding was occurring in the gear tower somewhere. I wasn't going to spend too much time on it, but later on decided I'll have a go - there was nothing to lose by trying. I dropped the bogie (one screw retaining it), unclipped the base of the bogie and dropped out all the axles plus a couple of layshafts with gears, then dismantled the gear tower casing to get at the internal gears. The worm drive was nearly frozen solid with thick, gunky grease in its end bearings. I cleaned as muchas I could then oiled it and worked on it for a while to free it up. Once turning freely, I wiped it over again, then re-oiled it, and reassembled everything. There was more of the grease on the walls of the tower, but not too much on the gears, and they were all turning freely, so I didn't bother too much with that. Having reassembled the bogie, I hand-turned the worm shaft and it felt free-running, so then hooked the cardan shaft back in, and threaded the bogie back into its location. A quick test on the track on DC again showed it hummed a little, but moved smoothly at slow speeds/voltages, and like a rocket on full power. Success! Now, do I consider converting it to DCC? It would be a hard-wiring job, and may not be really worthwhile if it is going to spend most of its life on a shelf.

I spent this morning installing a Dapol semaphore signal as a starter for the exit from the loco shed and goods siding. Took me quite a while and much cursing to get the hole to the right size for the signal base to fit in. After that it was easier to do the wiring before actually fitting the signal in its hole. It is connected to the existing 9V DC supply feeding the other similar signals. For the most part, this signal will remain at Danger, where the others on the main lines tend to be left in the off position, unless I feel like working them as trains go through. I have not done any more track laying or wiring yesterday or today. The bits and pieces out of place were the result of me moving things to get at the signal's position and also being bounced around by the drilling operations.

That reminds me of a funny story from my younger years. We had a family friend with a 10 year old son - we'll refer to him as L. We were on a joint picnic beside a very quiet country road in Central Queensland, when a couple of emus appeared at some distance down the road. L decided he wanted a photo, so walked slowly towards the emus. Emus are curious birds, so these two started towards L, who was still at a good, safe distance from them. L tried to maintain that safe distance so backed away, pointing his camera at the birds and trying to get a steady shot while still walking backwards. Of cousre, not looking where he was going, he backed himself over a log at the side of the road, and went backwards into a water-filled ditch. Luckily L wasn't hurt, and saw the funny side himself, and joined in with the laughter. He did get one photo: it was of an emu head looking straight down at him while he was on his back, with a perfect sky background.

I found that just a couple were causing certain locomotives (again only a couple) to slow down as they traversed the frog sections. One of the affected locos was a Hornby 08. With the DCC Specialists product, the amperage to the point frog can be upped if necessary, although at present I have left all of the settings on the default 1 amp. Moving on, this afternoon I wired and pinned down the tracks on either side of the turntable track. These two tracks will receive the buffer stops I was working on last night. I did a very quick video of 'Sarah Siddons' trundling over one of those tracks, and through the points - note that what appears to be a hesitation over the first point was just me slowing the locomotive. The track on the closer side in the video is also live. The mess in the foreground is the result of my having to clear enough space to swing the small hammer and generally have enough room to work on the tracks.

Continuing with the wiring/rewiring of parts of the layout, I spent this morning crawling under the boards to replace eight of the Gaugemaster Frog Juicers (i.e. auto polarity changers) with two DCC Specialties 'The Frog-AR' units, which each deal with four point frogs (or if desired, two auto-reversers). This meant cutting/desoldering the connections to each of the Gaugemaster units, running some extension wires from each of the point frog wires, and extending just two track power wires for each of the new units. The idea is that the DCC Supplies units can deliver more power if required, with jumper settings allowing for 1, 2, 3, or 4 amps to be supplied to each of the frogs. This releases the Gaugemaster units to complete the engine shed area, where slow speeds will be the rule, so any power drops will not be noticeable (I had noticed that a couple of locomotives were slowing on only certain points powered by the Gaugemaster frog switches). The points chosen for this swap over were all of the points leading into the fiddle yard loops at the left-hand end (six points in all), plus the two forming the crossover on the main lines in front of the locomotive shed area. A thorough test with a Heljan Hymek through every point involved was carried out, followed by some random tests with the Hornby Peckett 0-4-0ST. All went perfectly to plan. The previous evening was partly spent constructing a couple more of the Mike's Models white metal buffer stops, which now require painting. I wanted these finer types for a couple of the engine shed roads, while the more solid-looking Peco sleeper-built units will sit on the ends of the tracks that actually go through the engine shed.

One of those 3-way points had a loose connection on the feed wire to the frog polarity switches, which wasn't evident with longer wheelbase locomotives (the Hornby 700 has tender pickups as well), so the ultimate test was to run a Hornby 0-4-0ST Peckett through the two done so far. It stalled in the middle of the first point (the one closer to the turntable), so a quick run over the rails with the test meter probes showed that it was on the red side of track (I'm using green and red colour coding). Reseating the screwed connections fixed the problem, and, apart from having slightly dirty wheels, the Peckett sailed through nicely at both high and low speeds.

Lens distortion. It is interesting to compare the wasp stripes at the roof corners, and their relationship to the roof shape and cab windscreen top corners.

I have spent the last couple of mornings wiring up tracks into the engine sheds and sidings, including wiring up the Peco 3-way points with Gaugemaster auto frog polarity changers. I also reprogrammed the Heljan turntable, so that is now aligning correctly with the outlet track. While I still have two more points to wire up (one 3-way, one 2-way), plus installing the track feeds for all lines, this is a major step forward towards completing all track wiring on Newton Broadway. I took a short video showing a test run with a Hornby 700 class 0-6-0, 30693. The loco was turned on the turntable, then run through all the point frogs involved to join the main lines, then reversed back on to the turntable. All successful! The engine shed tracks are not pinned or fastened down in any way, yet, apart from the one track leading onto the turntable, so there was room for the track to float a bit and upset the loco's pickups.

Continuing the revisions to the controls and wiring, I have now added a shelf at the other end of the layout to house the old H&M Duette controller. As with the other analogue controller, this one has been sitting ratehr inconveniently on top of one of the Alex storage units. It is used to control the lower level lines when switched to DC, and supplies the 16V AC for the point motors on the lower level - eventually this will also supply the point motors on the upper level as well. On a slightly different note, I downloaded a new sound file for my Zimo-fitted class 33, D6585, from YouChoos, and used the Zimo programmer to install it for the first time, utilising the unlock codes John Guymer of YouChoos sent me once I had paid for the project.

A bit of wiring done today. I have now fully connected the Zimo MXULFA programmer to the programming track, including giving it its own connections on the 6-way switch. The connection was tested by using the 12V DC controlled output from the DC controller before finally connecting the wires to the plug on the Zimo unit. Now all I have to do is learn how to use the programmer!

Langley Miniature Models do a white metal Commer bonneted bus kit, and possibly a few Commer lorries. Could be worth a look on their website, or even a phone all to ask if they can supply a suitable radiator for you.

An hour's work this morning means the small shelf has been added under the boards to house the DC controller with its useful and actively used 16V AC outputs. As a side benefit, the Heljan turntable control has a spare ledge to sit on as well. I tested again to make sure I hadn't disturbed any of the connections, and all was well. The buttons on the dangling wires operate the Dapol semaphore signals, and will eventually be housed in the new control panel, once that goes in.

We had a new couch delivered a few days ago. This seems to have made it even more difficult to get any railway modelling done.

Fiddling around yesterday and today on the layout, I shifted the ESU LokProgrammer and the Power Cab PCP for the programming track, to make room for a control panel to go in. The Lokprogrammer moved to the left, while the PCP moved to the extreme right in the corner of the 'L'. I also plan to put a wooden shelf further over to the left to mount the ancient DC controller that supplies the 16 Volts AC for the LokProgrammer and also soon for the now arrived Zimo MXULFA programmer, and controlled 12 V DC for the programming/test track. There are presently unused 12 V DC uncontrolled outputs on it as well, so it is still a useful piece of equipment. Currently it sits loosely on top of one of my Alex storage units. I have pulled all of the European trains off the track and am now in the process of putting 1960s BR rolling stock on. The first two trains are the blue 4 TC unit 416 with class 33/1 D6520 propelling, and 3 x green 4 CEP units, 7128, 7156 and 7126 in multiple (consist). Still on the tracks from earlier running sessions are blue and grey 2 HAP 6063, NSE class 455 5838 with 456 007, and NSE class 319/1 9174. The Underground trains are still a mix from several eras, with S Stock prominent in the photos, plus a pannier tank L89 on a short goods working, a set of CO/CP stock and Bo-Bo No. 8 'Sherlock Holmes' on the Farish coaches impersonating Dreadnought stock. I have taken the plunge and pre-ordered a London Transport class 20 diesel from the Bachmann Collectors' Club, so that will fit in with a more modern era but could haul the imitation Dreadnought stock with Bo-Bo electric No. 12 'Sarah Siddons' topping and tailing. They are also offering 20 227 'Sherlock Holmes', but I am pushing my budget just getting one of these locos, and I already have a 'Sherlock Holmes' as mentioned above!