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Neal B

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  1. Neal B
    After several sessions of kitbuilding i decided it was time to take the plunge and get out the old hairy sticks. After quite a bit of study i deduced that in the 1970's, mineral wagons were rusty, very rusty. So i set about gathering all my rust coloured paints and washes and proceeded to obliterate the carefully applied shades of grey. I tried to vary things as much as possible. The results are above.
     
    The Shark gave me a welcome break from rust and also makes a companion for my lonely Seacow. The Seacow is next in the paint shop but i can't decide on a livery. Dutch is tempting but it's a bit on the late side for my layout. Olive would be a more sensible option.
     

  2. Neal B

    The lonely Seacow

    By Neal B,

    The ngs Seacow kit is certainly one of the more challenging wagon kits i've come across. The first steps of assembling the plastic superstructure and the etched brass chutes are simple enough, but from there it seems to get exponentially harder as the etches get thinner and more delicate. The end product does resemble Seacow although by the time i got to the fully assembled stage my mind was far from taking photographs and nearer thoughts of a bottle or two of ale, so here's a work in progress. Future interations will avoid some of the mistakes made on the stanchion etches although they aren't howlingly obvious i so i'll let myself off the hook.
     
    It's an ingenious kit and much recommended, especially to go with the ngs or revolutioN's shark. The only downside is that the society is currently out of stock of this kit so my Seacow is very lonely. 

  3. Neal B
    My wishes for a 'real' and 'prototypical' layout met with so many compromises in planning that eventually i ended up with a two level roundabout layout, which if laid out would represent a branch line terminus, through station, a small mpd, industry sidings and exchange sidings for a steel works. Trains can operate 'out and back' from the terminus due to a hidden reverse loop charged by a frog juicer.
     
    Obviously i want a lot from approximately 6x3 feet of real estate. After a long break from railway modelling i have a few hobby itches that need scratching as well as skills that need honing. Meanwhile i can amass rolling stock and do the research for a serious layout in the future. So if it looks like a trainset with way too much crammed in then that's because it probably is!  My favourite ever layout plans are those of Cyril Freezer as they were often approached with operating potential in mind. 
     
    Part of my planning brief is that the available space is multi use, since it's a garage and a workshop for my various hobby and non hobby related projects. Therefore the baseboard now constructed is mounted hinges to the garage wall, standing off approximately 12" from the wall to allow room for landscaping. When folded away the layout takes up approximately the space of a small wardrobe with train related bits and bobs stowing away in a cupboard underneath.
     
    Train workings hint at the prototype rather that emulate it, so loco hauled passenger trains will only have 3-4 coaches for instance, as that's what i have room for. The terminus can accomodate this and so can my wallet. For the price of a prototypical consist i can get two 'sort of like' trains and double my operating potential. 
     
    The layout is intended to be busy and have potential for multiple operators, and with limited places for trains the layout may be operated as one large puzzle. Experiments with cards and drawing hands of cards have varied from fun to annoying.  More work on that to follow, but as my other hobby us wargaming then there might be dice involved. Of course there is always the option of watching trains go round, at least two in my case due to there being a loop on both levels. I've got lots of operating potential in a small space, something i wanted from the beginning.
     
    Plans exist for an off scene fiddle yard located elsewhere in the garage. 
     
    So far the lower level is complete as is the gradient up to the upper level. The gradient is 3% which is acceptable for the shorter trains i'll be running.
     
    Track laying is currently stalled while i get the lower level electricals in, which necessitated i get the control panel designed and made. The large amount of points in a small space mean that this isn't a simple task, and because i've shied away from electrical complexity in the past it's something of a learning curve.


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