G.W.R. BLT: Almost there.

[Joe's Garage]

Very high tech Jon! I do like that as there is no risk of damage to couplings as a bonus especially Kadees or other delicate ones.
That is one of the great things about this forum, we get ideas from others. On a previous note I like your recycling of the spring clips, I have so much stashed in the "it'll come in handy one day" bin!
Thank you
Julian

 

[jonte]

Ho, Ho!! Thanks, Julian, although I can’t take credit for any of this.

My initial thoughts of using drop-nose pins as per sailing were flawed for two reasons: even if I drilled a series of holes each side, Sod’s law would dictate that none of the consists would fit precisely meaning that some sort of ‘cushioning’ to take up the gap would be required; also, I’d inevitably forget to isolate the sections at the switch(es) and end up short circuiting the electrics and probably experiencing a nasty shock to boot And all this to say nothing of their cost.

A frantic search of the model railway world resulted in the clever use of closed-cell(?) foam for the purpose, but where to find some around the house, as online prices were a little steep?

A search of the packaging of a couple of iPhone boxes I’d kept proved fruitless, the only other option being to slice up some of the protective foam from the presentation box of an O gauge model loco - absolute no way! - so, what to do?

My wife came up with the solution when she returned from a grocery shop: thanks, Deb

As for the clips, this only occurred to me when I found them whilst mooching through a box of odds and sods my brother in law had donated to me several years ago. Having had the odd fling with model railways over the years - he’d modelled in HO due to his German roots - he’d given up on the hobby and kindly thought I’d find a use for some spares, which as you can see, Julian, I did

That said, he still models, his main interest being old and ancient sailing ships which he models beautifully from scratch.

Thanks again, Julian, and glad that you’ve found it of some use.

Jon

 

[Ian@StEnochs]

I used very similar cassettes when Auchlin was on the exhibition circuit. I had a wooden gate which slotted into each end of the cassette which stopped anything falling off. A foam block, cut from a large piece of furniture foam, was wedged in between it and the rolling stock prevented them from see sawing as the cassette was moved.
For ease of handling I also had upturned L shape handles which made manouvering and lifting the whole train cassette very easy. We worked with a table behind on which the trains were stored until needed by the timetable. Trains were turned at the time of lifting.
The engines had their own short cassette and were kept on the fiddle board.
In all the time we used the system there was only one 'incident' where something fell off the end because the operator forgot the gate AND the foam. Only one brake van got damaged, slightly, but he never got invited back.
Ian.

 

[jonte]

Thanks for sharing, Ian.

Jon

 

[Roger Pound]

Has Debbie noticed the missing pan-scourers from her store yet ? Seriously though, I have a so-called 'sponge' of similar material and consistency bought from a Car Accessory shop some years back. If they are still available they would make a good 'bulk supply' for your buffer units.

Roger

 

[jonte]

Has Debbie noticed the missing pan-scourers from her store yet ? Seriously though, I have a so-called 'sponge' of similar material and consistency bought from a Car Accessory shop some years back. If they are still available they would make a good 'bulk supply' for your buffer units.

Roger

Indeed, Roger.

In fact, I think they came with her blessing to keep me from under her feet whilst out in the model room/ garage, where they will be of use, especially as it prevents me from messing up the front room with my presence

Many thanks for the top tip, Roger, but I noticed while out shopping t’other day, that B&M (Home Bargain?) in Formby sold the scourers in packs of Lord knows how many for a couple of quid or less Looks like Debbie was ripped off for the two sold separately in the picture after all

Hope all well, Roger.

Jon

 

[jonte]

Got a good deal in the wood yard t’other day: a piece of 12mm ply offcut, cut to my dimensions, for what will become the lighting hood; total cost: nowt. Reassured that the gods were at last on my side, the thought that a still sizeable piece of wood slid so easily into the boot of my car, came and went. All became clear when I got home for a test fit: I’d picked up the shorter of the two pieces that had been cut by accident

Due to exigencies of service, I wasn’t able to return until the weekend, hoping to reclaim the correct piece in exchange for the wrong’un. Unfortunately, good husbandry on the part of the yard had seen it disposed of, so no doubt feeling sorry for this daft old sod, they willingly cut me another slice. However, on closer examination, it wasn’t as straight and true as the original, with its acquired warp in the middle. Still, one couldn’t complain as again they total cost came to the square root of zero (I trust the mathematicians amongst us will forgive my heresy), and so out to the garage it went with me trusting to the following unorthodox solution:



I’ll find out later if it’s paid dividends (the lash section of angle seen in the picture will be carved into some form of bracket(s) after it’s painted).

Elsewhere, I’ve been experimenting with some ash rescued from the embers of a barbecue a couple of years ago, waiting for this opportunity. Sieved through a tea strainer (like hens’ teeth these days) onto glue and then sanded, here’s the result:



Looks okay but going to try again and see what difference dropping water and pva into it does, although again it will still be sanded for 4 milli scale. It will form the bit between adjacent lines and sides, ballasting up to it.

Otherwise, I’ve been adding card to the side of the rails onto which the ash will land:



At around 1mm thick, it leaves a smidgeon of sleeper proud. I would have preferred a slightly thinner card, but the only other card available to me was too thin. Once again, I didn’t fancy contributing to the Royal Mail shareholders Christmas bash, and there was nothing available in The Range or Hobbydaft of an appropriate size.

The next job will be to run some thin gypsum into the joints/cracks between adjoins pieces of card, and also the redundant holes in the sleepers around the tie bars of the points. The lot can then be sprayed before painting the track and ballasting.

To finish, these are the lights I’ll be using as suggested by Jeremy:



jonte

Edit: forgot to post this one in full. Apologies:

 

[jonte]

Gaps and redundant holes in point tiebars filled in as mentioned previously, it was time to mask up:



Priming complete, I began removing the primer from the rail tops with a bud dipped in spirit before it went off, starting with the points:



Complete:



The removable backscene made the process a lot easier.

jonte

 

[jonte]

Apologies for the boring post, but thought I’d post-up the layout with the backscene replaced and with a lid on:



Looks okay, so will pop out and pick up some decorative beading for the edge to prevent light bleed (handy modellers wouldn’t require this but I did my best with the saw to keep things as straight and true as possible).

It can then be painted: outside, to match the WR brown; inside, gloss white to reflect the LED lighting.

This one from distance and showing 4mm - Monks: perhaps NOT a Classic Minories - for a grandchild. at rest in the folded position under the bench:



jonte

 

[Joe's Garage]

Definitely not boring Jonte as it is always good to see how others do the actual construction sometimes so overlooked in the magazines.
I am at a stage where I need to paint and ballast my track and I have found it very useful when you and others show and tell. Just waiting for drier weather here in Somerset.
Cheers
Julian

 

[jonte]

Definitely not boring Jonte as it is always good to see how others do the actual construction sometimes so overlooked in the magazines.
I am at a stage where I need to paint and ballast my track and I have found it very useful when you and others show and tell. Just waiting for drier weather here in Somerset.
Cheers
Julian

Thank you, Julian.

I’m not convinced you’ll learn a lot here, but it’s an attempt to try and dress some very reliable but not too convincing track.

I’ll post a little more about what I’m trying to achieve and how in due course, so please continue to visit.

Meanwhile, fingers crossed for a stark improvement in the weather

Jon

 

[Roger Pound]

I was wondering how you are getting on with your decision on the methods and materials to produce the back scene illustration you mentioned some time ago. Your continuing precise and excellent progress means you will soon be arriving at that stage.

Roger

 

[jonte]

I was wondering how you are getting on with your decision on the methods and materials to produce the back scene illustration you mentioned some time ago. Your continuing precise and excellent progress means you will soon be arriving at that stage.

Roger

Hi Roger, and many thanks for your continued interest

I’m sticking to my original plan of a simple watercolour backscene consisting of a warm summer sky and some water-bled trees, thus far anyway. The idea is to rough up something in one of several watercolour sketch pads to familiarise myself with the techniques and to gauge, for instance, the height above baseboard of the horizon, before sourcing the longest length of watercolour paper. ‘Simple’ will be the operative word, Roger; I’m no Turner

Your mention of getting nearer doing the ‘good stuff’ is getting me a little excited to say the least. The fundamentals of baseboards, wiring and lighting are givens, but I doubt anyone’s favourite, so will be glad that they’ll soon be behind me

In fact, I’ll post up a ‘little’ more work on the lid

Cheers for now, Roger.

Jon

 

[jonte]

As mentioned last time, I picked up a length of beading from a local hardware shop, the idea being not just to titivate the lid but also to prevent light bleed in one or two areas:



Just waiting for the filler to dry before turning it upside down to paint the underneath in gloss, which will hopefully help the sticky pads that secure the LEDs to stick as well as reflect the light:



jonte

 

[Alan]

Thats a very narrow viewing slit. I assume the lid lifts off easily as it might be quite difficult to get a hand in if there were any derailments.

 

[jonte]

Thats a very narrow viewing slit. I assume the lid lifts off easily as it might be quite difficult to get a hand in if there were any derailments.

Absolutely, Alan, although I think the lack of internal lighting exacerbates the claustrophobic element; a flavour of what the introduction of lighting will do to address this can possibly be seen here:



The lid won’t be fixed, trusting to gravity to keep place.

Thanks for your concern, Alan.

Jon

 

[simond]

It’s quite reliable

 

[Pencarrow]

It’s quite reliable

Gravity - free and dependable, what more could you want?

 

[jonte]

It’s quite reliable

Akin to the Streamline

Jon

 

[jonte]

Just in addendum to my last, the lighting will be plug ‘n’ play like the rest of the set up so it can be disconnected when the need arises. However, being of 12mm ply, the lid is a tad on the heavy side, so recalling I still have a length of piano hinge left, what I’ve considered is hinging it to the batons to the rear of the backscene to make life a little easier.

Of course, as the backscene is designed to be removable, this won’t be until everything is has reached a point where I consider it ‘done’, whatever that means

jonte