Leaderboard

In 2013 I wrote an article for LMS Review on the then new Bachmann 4F. One of the two I purchased was 43875 which visited the Bristol shed. My intention was to convert it to P4 for the layout and a couple of years ago I purchased an Easi-Chassis kit from Brassmasters and started the conversion. This ground to a halt early in 2017 pending a decision on which method of pick-ups to use. Over the past week I have completed the project - not the easiest conversion to attempt - and this afternoon the 4F was tested on a freight on the layout. Here is a video of the test freight train. Especially for you John:-) Thanks to Morgan for the loan of the stock.

Given that the 47xx body is now complete (with the exception of the top feed pipes which I keep forgetting to add!) My original thought was towards making a start on the cylinders assembly in order that I could finish off the chassis. However given that it will require shortening the lead crankpin, a task I do not want to do until I have soldered the washers into place to hold on the con rods) the cylinders will have to wait until I paint the chassis. Which reminds me I must go to Halfords and buy etch primer today!) Instead I made a start on building the tender. So far I have soldered up the main parts of the chassis, it’s a little disappointing not to have rivet detail on the valances or any detail on the draw beam. I also couldn’t understand why the valances, buffer beam and draw beam do not have the same tab and slot construction as the main sides. Still, it was all soldered together square before trying to clean up the excess solder. This was followed by adding the tank support brackets, after fettling to achieve a good fit between frame and valance. Finally on the chassis I soldered the draw bar mount into position, along with a shortened 10ba bolt. The next task was the one I was most dreading, adding the etched side to the top of the tender. The instructions stated to use 4mm diameter bar to form the curves, as well as mentioning a tab for alignment on the rear of the baseplate. Unfortunately this tab was over etched which made the alignment a little trickier. I used my own approach for forming curved sections in brass, after aligning the valance centrally on the baseplate I tack soldered the rear face into position (using a thick band of solder next to each corner). Once happy that it was square, I rolled the first side against the wooden desk, pressing it against the baseplate former. This was then tacked in position ensuing it was square, before completing the soldered joint along the whole edge. This was then repeated for the other side of the tender. With the valance in place, the next job was to add the front and rear bulkheads, fire iron tunnel and bunker front, before test fitting on the frame assembly. Tonight I am aiming to finish off the soldering on the front of the tender and get the 4 sub-assemblies joined together. Hopefully along with priming the loco body and chassis.

Over the past few weeks it's been hard to motivate myself to do anything, aside from drawing stuff on the computer, which is always satisfying. So this weekend I decided to just do something, anything just to get myself going. So I built a workbench for model making so that I don't monopolise the dining table any more. The work surface is 18mm ply with a frame of 50*50 PSE bracing for strength and to straighten out the ply, which was a bit warped. Sides and shelf are 12mm birch ply. The legs are a bodge up so that I could get the job finished before work on Monday - 50*50 PSE braced by 12mm birch ply. Time will tell if they need more bracing... Ply surface and frame being glued up in my shed. The finished article (apologies for bad photo - not enough light).

I have been thinking about an idea for a "flexible" layout. This is still very much developing, and what you see here is not an actual trackplan, but an illustration of the concept. The basic idea is a layout where selected drop-in modules can be removed and replaced with other modules. So a particular cameo, building or siding can be exchanged with another cameo, building or siding – thereby changing the look of the layout. This in turn allows for variation in rolling stock and operation. Ultimately, such a concept gives endless possibilities of varying a layout from one operating session to another. In my case, though, the aim would be to have a layout that can capture a little of the way in which a railway scene changes over time. In real life, sidings also frequently changed their length and purpose over the years, as stations were rebuilt, trackplans changed etc I also like the idea of having the layout change over the course of a single day. Exchanging one lineside diorama for another could be used to indicate that we have now passed from morning to afternoon. Buildings and their immediate environments could also be prepared as individual dioramas and then used on the layout as appropriate. It would be interesting to buy a couple of ready-to-plonk buildings and then have one in pristine state while distressing the other one, in order to show the passage of time. The layout could be designed to be viewed from all sides. That would add to the feel of an "interactive" scenery. Anyway, it would be interesting to hear if people think it is actually feasible? Joins will clearly be the big issue. But I'm sure something similar has been tried before, so if there are any thoughts or experiences out there I'd be happy to hear them.

Farthing, June 27, 1914. Europe is on the brink of war, but noone knows. The staff go about their morning routines, and No. 835 sleepily shunts a horsebox. Station Master A. Woodcourt examines the scene. He likes the order and calm of the bay area. He is feeling his age and hopes it will be a quiet day. But it is not to be. As he propels the horsebox into the sidings, driver T.F. Oberon notices a problem. Throughout his life with the railways, he has been able to smell a hot axlebox. And he can smell one now. As the "hot box" is confirmed, Woodcourt realizes he has a problem on his hands. There is a major event at the Farthing Race Course today, and there are no spare horseboxes to deploy. To make matters worse, the owner of the horse turns out to be the rather brusque and imposing Mr Bull. As Bull launches into yet another of his long-winded complaints about the state of the country's railways, Woodcourt realizes it is going to be one of those days... *** Credits: Horsebox built by Pete Morris. *** Will Woodcourt solve the problem? Will the horse make it in time for the races? What else is in store for the good people of Farthing? Find the answers in the next instalment of "All in a day's work"... Go to part 2

It's been several months since my last bit of bloggery, so here goes. Tillingham is now coming along nicely, and starting to look more like a layout rather than some track on a baseboard. The enhanced progress follows a few weeks where I'd had to dismantle the two baseboards and their trestles to make way for extra accommodation with both our girls on a visit, and took the opportunity to bring the scenic half of the layout down to our home workshop (former kitchen) where a 4x2 sits nicely on a worktop handy for all services and at a good height to work on. Consequently, I've painted a base coat of burnt umber on the "hilly bits" and other areas, and done some more ballasting and yard surfacing, though my next layout will definitely not have what is allegedly 00 scale ballast, as it's much too lumpy, but I'm not raking it all up now to start again! In addition, I've built a Ratio coal office and staithes on a separate plasticard base, which I'll reveal another time, a sleeper buffer stop (Wordsworth download) and a flight of steps which will connect the as yet to be built town to the station. These I did from scratch in Depron foam sheet and balsa wood, both in my model aeroplane stock, with some DeLuxe plastic filler here and there, and which I reckon will look reasonable when painted and weathered as a Southern style concrete construction. Painting and fitting the tiny Ratio railings kit I bought is going to be a bit of a caper though, I suspect I also did some work on the access road ramp, which is also in balsa, with a covering in brick paper and three buttresses, which would probably on reflection have been better as arched recesses, but I was on a roll! Finally, I did the tunnel mouth, another Worsdworth download but modified, which necessitated hacking out some of the raised ground I'd laid, and concentrating on that corner of the layout, had my first go at static grass laying with one of the very nicely priced MR Models tea-strainer based devices that seems to have worked pretty well with a mix of 2mm and 4mm "grasses" for the slightly overgrown area. We'll see how well my diluted PVA sticking and consequent fixing spray worked when I take the board back upstairs! Oh, and the shed road buffer stop is in, with some filling and weathering to do. Working in one specific area to get it looking more like something real I have found very encouraging, so will probably carry on that way - it's only 4' x 2' on the scenic side after all, with the townscape to be built on a higher level above part of the fiddle yard side at a later date - bearing in mind the need to try and match certain things colour and finish-wise as I go, which may be easier said than done. There's the matter of a small river to think about at the diagonally opposite corner from the current section too... onwards and upwards Paul Yard and tunnel area with various bits of ground cover going on. Flight of steps in foam and balsa won't add much weight to the board! Station access ramp, weathering of the main part yet to be done, road slab edge and fencing sorted out. My first attempt at static grass application, and the tunnel mouth installed. Starting to look a bit more like a railway I hope! Oh, one last thing - I may transfer the rest of the layout build over to the general Layouts part of the forum, rather than in a blog, hopefully to widen the viewing and get more feedback. What do others who have done all this before think? Comment or PM me, ta

Having not, for one reason and another, had much building time lately, it was good to get on a bit in the last couple of weeks. The basic "terraforming" is done, and needs painting with a base coat soon. I also did some more ballast laying, and trying out a bit of brown ground cover in the goods yard, which seems OK, though I may need to work on getting the PVA glue to the right consistency. A visit to a local model railway show provided an unfinished station building, which though to my eyes it looks a bit too GWR rather than Southern, with it's tall chimneys, it's the right size (I was originally going to scratch build a station house and platform building in one, but it was starting to look a bit crowded - the station master will have to have "digs" in the town!) and was only a couple of quid with scope for a few mods. I also did some track painting, but can't say I'm 100% satisfied with the colour on the rails (Humbrol 62) so would welcome any other suggestions. Starting to look a bit more like a layout at last!

Now that was easy. Having figured out how running on my layout might actually work, I'd though for a while that an extra siding in the behind-the-scenic-bit fiddle yard might be good. Started 4 pm yesterday, pulled up the old siding (on the left), installed a Peco turnout recently purchased secondhand along with some other odd bits of track, and stuck the new shorter one - just long enough for a single coach autotrain (appropriate rolling stock yet to come) alongside my "Thumper" DMU, job done by 5.15, and glue left to dry. All works well. Using DeLuxe Materials Speedbond for track laying actually works pretty well, because a little bit of it goes a long way; it grips well, but if you need to tear it up again, using a steel ruler under the sleepers pops it off with a twitch of the wrist, you can re-use the track, and it does indeed dry speedily. The siding in the foreground of the pic will also be coming up. This will be my "goods yard/quarry" further down the line from Tillingham, changed to a cassette system for turning round and changing stock and locos. Trying to get a workable layout into 4 x 4 feet is proving not only possible, but fun too. MDF and some light aluminium angle should fit the bill, at about 21" for each cassette. No 30/40 wagon freights on my line; that you can't do!