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What's on my workbench and other musings

Entries in this blog

Postman Football, and why it's important to pack accordingly

Postman Football, and why it's important to pack accordingly

This week I have been looking at a NRM Limited Edition Schools class 925 Cheltenham. It was sent to me along with several other DCC locos as a non-runner and the body fixing screw was loose. Problem being it had been packed inside its box without the inner tray, wrapped in a small amount of bubble wrap. Clearly it had moved around in the box quite a bit during postman's playtime (sent Special Delivery) and this is what I found when I unwrapped it ...     After an
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Kaydees, no thanks

Kaydees, no thanks

What to do when your 13 year old takes a shine to an old Atlas loco at the Mansfield Model Railway show. Prize out the Kaydees and glue in some spare NEM pockets. He likes the big old style couplings so we have standardised on them. Plenty of spare small Bachmann style ones for me  
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George's Train Set - The Rebuild Part 3 - Dead Short

George's Train Set - The Rebuild Part 3 - Dead Short

Well, you'd have thought I'd have spotted that there was a short circuit way before I got to wiring up the turntable - HND Electrical & Electronic Engineering pah!   Of course having the two entries to the turntable and the desk permanently live means a dead short when you align it to one or the other entry roads. Something had to be done, I thought about insulated joints etc but decided to remove the problem altogether by making the longer curved entry into a siding and removing t
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George's Train Set - The Rebuild Part 2

George's Train Set - The Rebuild Part 2

So another damp cold Saturday allowed me to get all the track laid on the centre board. The adjustment the screws allowed for at the baseboard joints worked really well - allowing for the differences in alignment that somehow crept in between mine and Santa's workshops     Just need to wire up the centre board and then we at least have a layout for the Mansfield Show Didn't take long for George to move in though ...     The lack of power does not deter
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George's Train Set - The Rebuild

George's Train Set - The Rebuild

George's train set whilst operational had it's issues. The main one was the need for the S bends on the centre board.     This was because the layout was originally just two 4 x 2 ft boards with an oval across the corners to maximise the run length. When the centre board was added by Santa it had to have the curves to make everything join up.     All those curves meant that my APT-E would not run and even the baseboard joints on curves gave the occasiona
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East - Part 9

The Hymek took a turn on Fourgig East at the Mansfield show and after a few initial hiccups performed well. I quickly learned that due to the large overhang the loco could not shunt wagons in the goods sidings - buffer lock was the order of the day. So one of the shunters took over these duties whilst the Hymek simmered next to the camping coach.   Traction was also an issue, ok on the straights but couldn't get more than two wagons and the brake van into the goods loop. It was happier on pass
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East - Part 8

Thought it was time for an update.   I've lowered the loco on it's bogies by removing material from the bogie pivot - the thickness of two washers, so about 1.5 to 2mm. These washers sit inside under the shoulder screw to compensate.   JLTRT couplings have been assembled, just need to chemically blacken them and get them fitted     Green stripe has been airbrushed on using Humbrol 36 and electrical tape for a nice clean masked edge - a trick #1 son picked up from his Nerf gun modding  
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East - Part 7, roof details

As most people (me included) will spend their time looking down on the Hymek I thought that the roof deserved more attention than say the underframe. Sadly this is the weakest part of the Triang model, apart from the roof section joins everything else is either wrong or missing!   So first to the fan grille, which should be offset by quite a margin. Existing grille filled and flattened and then a card template made with a 38mm hole fixed in place to mark out the new hole     I have bought
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East - Part 6

Quick update:   cabs are now painted, small amount of fettling to do but basically waiting for the body to be complete then satin varnish and glazing/wipers. Here's a couple of shots of it as it stands at the moment. Must get on with that roof!    
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East - Part 5, getting noisy

Big thanks to Paul Chetter, a parcel arrived this morning with a Zimo sound chip and a selection of speakers to try to see which sounds best in the Hymek. Liking the look of the big round one to go under the fan     Also cab roofs are getting there, vents are in place, just need the airhorns then I can get them painted     EDIT: Cab roofs fitted out and painted, couldn't resist adding the pipework to the horns ....  
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East - Part 4

Progress over Christmas The main body is painted, just need to add handrails and buffers etc. Cab roofs are stripped of details and are waiting for new roof vents and air horns.     Main progress has been the bogies, pickups added and wired up so it now moves under its own power!   Wheelslip is a big issue but once I've added a couple of pounds of lead it should be fine    
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George's first layout

One thing I have been doing over the summer is making #2 son's first layout. Quite refreshing bunging down set track!   It started as a 1st and 2nd rad loop set across the corners of two 2x4 boards using my now familiar dowels and toggle clamps. Power transferred from one board to another via the clamps.   Santa is bringing him a centre board with turntable and engine shed       So he can still have the simple 2 boards for a quick play or all three on a weekend (and Dad has a te
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East - Part 3

Quick update from yesterday's progress:   Bogies have met the razor saw and the front section that carries the coupling have been removed. A strip of plastikard replicating the rib at the other end for strength.       Pickups next and a 10mm hole for access to the new roof fixings in the undriven one.   I've also cemented in small sections to the body sides where the switches used to be and cleaned, lubed and test run the original power bogie - noisy by modern standards but at the sp
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East - Part 2

Well I am steadily gathering parts together. Big thanks to Lord Flashheart for donating TWO spare drive bogies - I now have loads of possibilities should I need more traction   I've also taken delivery of some A1 Models air horns and some lovely sprung buffers from NMRS-Models.   The cleaning up of the bodyshell is continuing and I'm thinking of how to attach the roof now that the fixing holes have been filled in - I would prefer to retain the removable roof rather than bond it in place as
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Big Big Hymek for Fourgig East

Been a while but here's the start of another budget loco build for Fourgig East - A Triang Big Big Hymek.   I bought a pretty good example for £39 from eBay and the process of converting it to a running O gauge loco has started.     First off the raised lettering on the side has been scraped off and the moulded handrails removed. I've also filled in the fixing holes on the roof and fixed a crack. The switch assembly has been removed ahead of filling in the body sides.   The plan is to r
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Uncoupling Refined

One thing that has been evident from operating my O guage layout Fourgig East at shows is that my makeshift uncoupling hook for 3-link couplings is a bit, well, poor, and I only have one of them so operators have to share!   Having seen 3 Link of this parish's "key idea" ( http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/50279-o-gauge-auto-couplings/&do=findComment&comment=579380) I thought I'd have a go. I first made a plastic mock-up with 1mm sheet and a bit of tube that I squirrele
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Hornby 8F with Zimo Sound

I have another 8F to do a sound fitting so I thought i'd show how I fit the excellent ABS-230 speaker in the tender   First remove the weight and prise off the plastic supports. using a razor saw cut down the rear weight fixing pillar flush. Drill some holes in front and behind the centre wheels. Cement in two small fillets of 1mm plastikard to seal the bottom of what will be the output chamber for the speaker - a couple of nicks in the corners will allow the pickup wires to pass through.  
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Servoset II - Complete

So I finally got it finished     Pretty pleased with the finish, could be better but having the drill press made the machining of the case loads easier One thing I would do different, and this goes out to anyone else who is contemplating building one of these bits of kit is that the LEDs are mounted on the track side of the pcb. This makes them very prone to being caught during subsequent handling and wiring up which cracks the pcb track!   I should have drilled a couple more holes in th
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Servoset II - Continued

Last night I managed to get the LEDs and push buttons fitted to the pcb and then fitted the front panel.     The front panel was tricky and takes time to get anything like right. A bit disappointing that the legend for the rotary controls does not line up fully. Something not quite right in the print methinks.   Anyway, here it it ready for the next stage which is completing the electronics.  
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Servoset II

The signals on Fourgig East are driven by MERG servo driver boards that for now are set-up using a laptop and the appropriate software. However lugging an ancient laptop (it still has a 3.5" floppy drive!) around just in case I need to adjust a signal was bugging me so I spent some Christmas money on a MERG kit 76A Servoset II.   SWMBO also arranged for Santa to bring me a nice new shiny drill press (pillar drill to the masses) so the two were brought together last night for a pleasant hour wi
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Slater's All Third - (all but) Done

Took a snap last night of the S9 with it's sister T34 brake coach.     it's 95% complete and ready for RMweb Live!   I've still got to make and fit the step end handrails and the couplings are just hooks at the moment, I will complete the JLTRT screw links before Wycrail, honest .......
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Slater's All Third - Brown!

As promised, the GWR coach brown was applied by my trusty 6 quid airbrush - which is now stripped down and it's vital parts soaking in thinners     That's all for a few days whilst the paint hardens, next step will be to flood the cream into the panels
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Slater's All Third - Primer!

Bit of a jump forward, but all the detailing is now done on the body and this morning I masked off the windows and got a few coats of grey primer on       Now baking off in the sun. Should get the bits that will be yellow masked off and the brown on later
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