Ok, so maybe I didn't actually build a bridge. However, the bridge has been built and I can finally get over it.
It's been a busy few weeks for me in the train room. My neighbour has installed the bridge across the doorway for me and I have managed to complete the 2 lower circuits of the railway as well as half of the fiddle yard. Now the fun can really begin, Ballasting! Any volunteers want to come around and help (do it for me)? Given that about a third of the lower level will be in a tun
Hi folks, remember me?
You know it's been a long time between blog entries when you have to go back and read your own blog just to see where you left off! I suddenly realised that it has been nearly 8 months since my last entry.
However, it doesn't seem that much has happened in that time so I have had very little to write (prattle on) about. The Ratio 4 wheel carriage has come to a grinding halt as it seems that the station bench that I was using for compartment seats is no longer a
Hi all. I trust everyone had a happy Christmas and that the big guy was good to them. Hands up all those who got a lump of coal. As I've said previously, rail modellers are a lucky lot. If we're good, we get what we want for Christmas and if we're bad, we get a lump of coal which we could use anyway so it's a win win situation.
I must have been very good as I received an apple watch for Christmas along with some very interesting materials that could be used on the model railway when the ti
Seems I have been slacking off a bit with my blog entries of late.
I blame the weather. Now that it's warming up, I'm spending more time outside and less in the train room but that doesn't mean I have been slacking off in the room altogether.
The ongoing project of the grounded coach body continues and seems to be slowly turning into a diorama of its own. After my last entry, I have added a window box, outdoor seat and "resident" as well as giving it a coat of paint. The painting was uni
Having got the grounded coach to near completion, including the fitting of internal lighting, and also finishing the MMS Hillman van kit, my attention has turned once again to the baseboards and a small step forward has been made in the form of a slope to the upper level. It isn't quite as I would have hoped it would be in as much as it seems a little steeper than I thought it would be. Indeed, a test using 2 Hornby clerestory coaches showed that certain engines will not be able to cope, namely
Now that my life is returning to something resembling normality, I have managed to get more done in the train room!
I have roped my cabinet maker neighbour into constructing the bridge piece for my layout (he rarely says no to a cash job) so I may actually make some headway with the layout in the not too distant future. I probably should think about laying some track eventually!
I have moved forward with the MMS white metal Hilman kit though. It has been given a (Hand painted) coat of p
Ok, this is getting ridiculous now. Those of you who have been following this saga would know of my heart attack in January. Well, 4 Weeks ago, I found myself in hospital once again but, this time, it was a bleed in the bowel. The remedy this time was for the doctors to remove 1/3 of my bowel. Hopefully, that will be the last time for a good while to come.
However, I digress. The grounded carriage project has been coming along nicely and I'm quite happy with it in general. During this recent
With apologies to Monty Python!
Received a couple of packages last week which has helped move things along a bit. First up, I received two white metal kits from MMS models which I ordered about 3 weeks back. Apparently the delay was caused by the ABF (Australian Customs) wanting to take a look inside the package. Maybe one of them is thinking of taking up the hobby!
The second package contained the Noch furniture that I was waiting on for the grounded coach body project so a little more
It seems that, if you wait long enough you will find more than you need.
In my last entry, I mentioned that I need to keep an eye out for a cooker for the grounded carriage project. By some happy coincidence this week, I found a set of interior furniture by Noch (set 14833) that includes not one but three different cookers! It's a puzzle as to why they would have three cookers in a set that only has one of everything else but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. I have ordered sa
Strange and exciting things are afoot in the train room this week.
First up, I took delivery of a custom made book case thanks again to my neighbour. He also made those modifications to my work bench that I alluded to in one of my previous entries. I now have all of my books in one place and not spread throughout the house (Believe me, they were!) and a work bench that stays put and nothing can fall off the back of. Seems I could use some more books though!
Now for the strange bit. I we
Well, only two levels actually. Baseboard construction has been proceeding apace now and I feel that I'm on the home straight. With the exception of the bridging piece, today saw the last of the lower level frames completed and supports for the upper level built. I'll be the first to admit that I'm no Carpenter/joiner but, I am quite happy with the results thus far. As for now, there will be a short pause in construction to allow funds to regenerate and then I shall push on.
I have decided t
As I mentioned in my last update, I had a heart attack in January (21st) this year which not only slowed me down but also acted as a bit of a wake up call. You'd think 20 years of rescue work would have done that but, no, these things always happen to other people! It has been mentioned several times since that I am still young (turned 53 on Jan 4) and still have a fair few more trips around the sun to go.
Prior to the heart attack, I had a bit of a tendency to being a "Gunna" and was always
25/02/17
Ok, so this is turning into a bit of a saga now. After a bit of a slack period due to work commitments, home commitments, a rushed wedding in country Victoria followed by a repeat 2 months later and the passing of my father after a brief bout with cancer, I finally got started building some baseboards. I managed to get 2 done before I suffered a heart attack in January which meant no lifting any thing over 2kg for 6 weeks.
However, I digress. Previous to all of this, I did mana
2015
Wow! Is it really 4 years since I started this? Not sure what happened but things came to a halt for too long after the last entry. Now it is moving ahead again. I'm not going to make bold predictions this time. Just make entries as things happen. First up, I finally finished the walls and gave the interior a coat of paint.
Next up came bases for the cabinets. It was at this point that we discovered thet the floor has a nasty slope into one corner which meant the the Bases at the f
When we bought our house about 10 years ago, One of my many plans was to create a space for me to have a model railway. The garage was earmarked for conversion to a room for that purpose. Finally after years of inaction due to life, IVF, My Wifes cancer and just plain lack of money, I am about a month off having one. The house came with a "double" Garage but we never once put the car in it! Instead, it was used as a sort of storage shed/dumping ground for anything that didn't fit in the house o
