Just spent an unexpected day with No 1 Son, reassembling a Jawa speedway bike from parts in the workshop, we are both going to have an end-of-season canter tomorrow (Sunday). I haven't ridden for a LONG time and he rarely rides these days, and we haven't ridden with the club before... what can possibly go wrong?
Clubroom afternoon, spent some time experimenting with the Gaugemaster controller setup. This seems to be becoming something of a club project now, next step is to reconfigure the wiring so the Gaugemaster and NEC spreads can be swapped over by changing plugs on the track power wires.
Interesting comparison. Personally I prefer the Gaugemaster on first acquaintance, the larger, backlit display is easier to read. Flicking straight from loco to loco with no fussing about with "recall" is hand
Club night last night. Much discussion of the Show, packing and storing of Canons Cross (club exhibition layout) and discussion of next outing.
Nobody much using the test track, so I took the opportunity to ask some questions and follow some of the wiring. Plans to take the Gaugemaster setup there on Thursday, now I've worked out how to disconnect the NCE spread and connect the Gaugemaster.. doesn't look difficult in principle, no soldered joints involved and no risk of connecting both sim
Got a gate pass from helping No 1 Son sort out his house and walked round to the Showground.
Very enjoyable, good show and worth the money. Interesting to see the trade stands.
Some very good layouts, some impressing by sheer size. Loved the Fn3 Colorado one, and Lough MPD. Bought a couple of copies of SL&NG Gazette. Spent some time at the Hornby OO Live Steam Group stand, fascinating things but I can see why they missed the mark commercially.
Had a most instructive chat at th
Over to the Three Pickerels at Mepal, for a good evenings music. I've been working on Katyusha on the mandolin during my last rotation, a classic Russian ear worm immediately recognised when heard... nearly as good as Thunderbirds, or Match Of The Day. Easily followed and well suited to accordions (Russians rarely play the balalaika, in my experience, but accordions and guitars are ubiquitous) so a good bouncy pub session tune, without the deceptively difficult fast fingering of that Pugwash tun
Off to the Post Office, or at any rate the agents handling their Christmas casual jobs. A real window on the world, starting with the harassed-looking chap from the Kings Lynn area (35 miles away) who explained that he needed the work, because he needed to do enough work to keep his benefit claims in place - he had no expectation of supporting himself from earnings, there was no agricultural gang work (all contracted to East European gangmasters at rates as low as £3/hr) so not compromising his
Off to Florida in January, it seems. Started out by ringing BA to see what I could get for my quite enormous Avios (=Air Miles, basically) tally. Ended the day having booked a 16-day trip to Florida... well, the kids are all off skiing and snowboarding at Xmas / New Year so we thought we were due a trip.
Wasn't the plan for the day but sometimes you just have to go with the idea of the moment.
Had a spell at the clubroom this afternoon, fettling and experimenting.
Sorted out the unhappy running on the Bachmann 2-8-0 by closely examining the motion; located a couple of possible pinch points, tweaked them slightly with a jewellers screwdriver. Running like a good 'un now. Must have distorted them when handling the loco, or maybe not boxed it correctly (this loco doesn't have its original box but lives in a 1L plastic box)
After various experimentation, located one, or possibly
So, I collected two somewhat different procedures on here, plus another one from a website on how to control multiple locos from one controller.
Went along to the club room for Thursday afternoon and tried them out. None proved to be 100%, including the version in the manual but some experimentation soon worked it out.
The "Colorado style" Bachmann 2-8-0 and BLI 2-8-0 proved to be a good combination for the "helper loco" routine, based on a rake of 8 Bachmann coal hoppers. One has the c
Last Night Of The Proms tonight, which I always rather enjoy. The Guardian informs the world that "a secretive on-line campaign" (no, I don't understand that either) has raised the money to distribute 5,000 EU flags to prom-goers and opines wistfully that "tonight we may find what they really think", whether they are "jingoistic or ironic".
Personally, I suspect that all they will really learn is that if you had out freebies to a large crowd of excitable twenty somethings who have come to bo
Went along to Club Night last night, best one in a long time with quite a high turnout.
- a club exhibition layout I hadn't seen before, but obviously a long-established one, set up and running with a couple of younger relatives of one of the members, being guided through the complex "cab control" control system.
- the O gauge project which has caused more controversy than enough, now cut down to a workable space with a group around it working on whatever it's next incarnation is intend
Just been clearing my desk and closing out my report.
My role essentially consists of acting as a supervisor and observer for a survey team, carrying out a task which has moved on at least one generation since I was actively involved, apart from the parts I never DID know anyway.
Mostly I am there to offer an experienced eye ... my back-to-back is much closer to th technical side, and between us we provide an overall perspective. As it happens I am the last rotation, so I have the job
Getting near the end of the project. I've done 90-odd days this year, done a couple of professional courses which I've been putting off for ages, dealt with an unexpected building job on the house and managed to do enough to steer No 1 Son through a reasonably successful first season of flat track racing. It's not been easy. A few more weeks work, No 1 Son gets married in October and then I think that's it for the year.
Looking forward to a long winter break again. Most of my long-delayed b
Back to work soon, so I took the opportunity of an afternoon club opening to use the test track
Loco #420, the modified "Colorado-style" Bachmann 2-8-0, pulled steadily away with the SJCC pipe train, 5 gondolas and 6 flats. This is a difficult train to get right, and I haven't quite managed it yet; the alternate light and heavy cars don't help its running. The flat cars are also rather sensitive to the sometimes less-than-perfect point work on the club test track. But, 11 bogie cars is a goo
A few Thursday afternoons over at the MDMRC test track, and I have the various Bachmann and BLI 2-8-0 and 2-6-0 DCC settings sufficiently weighed up to be able to start and stop them consistently and control the sound. Worked out a routine to run a train, then bring another loco up behind as a banker, all using one controller (because that's what is currently available there).
I've also bought an NCE controller socket so I can take THAT over and control two locos separately. The present con
..it occurs to me that I've taken to giving my name as Ben, when asked for a name. This is mostly because there is actually a trader in the hobby with the same name, albeit a slightly different spelling, and I don't wish there to be any implied connection or misunderstanding.
Any relationships involving transactions, I introduce myself by the name on my credit card, passport or any other documents which may be involved, because life's too short to do otherwise. Same goes for anything I write
Having (mostly) sorted out the couplers, I've turned my attention to the various rolling stock.
The Bachmann stock is really TOO mismatched in size, to coexist with the SJCC and AMS stock. Plus, I can't see any use for the logging bogies.
So, I've decided to clear out any remaining logging stuff, and the small Bachmann bogie tank cars. I have two AMS tank cars which can be fettled to serve with the Bachmann couplers, and a box of bits which started as a project to build Bachmann compat
Another long-delayed job has been sorting out the couplers. My stock having mostly come as three job lots from abandoned projects, I have every coupler and coupler height known to man amongst them.
To get round this I bought two AMS flat cars fitted with couplers to serve as "match trucks" to allow Bachmann locos to pull consists fitted with SJCC or other On3 couplers, these now seem to be reliable after a certain amount of fettling and track trials (the various Bachmann and Kaydee couplers
Very disappointed indeed by the BBC this morning, picking up a story and promoting it verbatim to peak coverage (how convenient that the erstwhile travellers had an MP who writes a column for the Guardian!), but on to happier things.
Looking forward to watching "We're Doomed! The Dads Army Story" on iplayer, when time allows. Strong reviews and a top class ensemble cast, should be good. I'm not an unqualified fan of Perry and Croft - I thought "It Ain't Half Hot Mum" was well below par, an
I play tenor banjo and like to play in pub sessions when I get the chance. There tends to be a "crush" in December and this year is no exception. Plus, it tends to be the "silly season" when all sorts of things get aired.
Last night was no exception, a "French night" at a local pub with very tasty onion soup and crusty bread served part-way through, a ceilidh band specialising in Breton music to give a general direction ... plus a digression into various Christmas carols for banjo, melodeon
So, loco #420 (an eBay impulse buy) has belatedly been given track trials now the DCC system is working at the club test track. I like this loco; basically a modified Bachmann 2-8-0 to give a more 'Colorado" look, plus DCC and sound
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/grass_stroker/th_IMG_2202_zps4iegrx5p.mp4
http://i1023.photobucket.com/albums/af356/grass_stroker/th_IMG_2197_zpszclr36pm.mp4
The BLI 2-8-0 has also been on test, I've identified the sound switch under the tender
I'm just having my first leave of any length for... Oh, a long while. My local club (Market Deeping MRC) have now got the DCC working on the test track, so I'm embarking on a winter project to get to grips with the whole subject, how it works and so forth.
The two MMI locos are scheduled to go to Paul Martin in the New Year to have DCC and sound fitted, these imposing models deserve it, I think.
just had a longer-than-usual leave during which very little got done on the modelling front
However, feeling rather flush I splashed out on a Stoney Creek Designs kit from EDM Models. I have always intended that my layout include a drilling rig and some nodding donkeys and couldn't resist this http://www.stoneycreekdesigns.com/2014oilwell.html
I'd date this rig at around the 1910s or 1920s, although rigs of that type continued in occasional use until around the Second World War.
O
I've been looking at tanker cars, after acquiring a collection of Lionel items.
there's some debate about quite what scale they ARE, but comparison with the SJCC UTX frameless car ( a very accurate scale model) shows them to be very similar in overall size (bogies here are Bachmann log skeletons, for immediate purposes)
time for some serious consideration, I think
I mentioned the Bachmann 2-8-0 a little while ago. This is a very fine model and it runs as well as it looks.
However there seem to be three basic variants of US narrow gauge - 2ft gauge common carrier lines in the New England area, 3ft gauge logging lines using geared locos in the Pacific NW, and large mineral and common carrier lines using 8-coupled locos and bogie stock in the SW ( East Broad Top would fit this category, too). 20" gauge lines in the Nervada area using small four-coupled
