peach james Posted December 20, 2017 Author Share Posted December 20, 2017 Well, almost a year since I last posted- and nothing much has happened ! However, I have had to pull the turnout to the right in the photo above- now to see if I can find a RH Large Electrofrog in my box of track... (I already need to order some bits from Hattons, so it won't be the end of the world if I cannot...) The insulfrog one that I had in place has gotten to be "dubious" for powering the frog, so out it goes, and something will replace it. I have the wiring for the Torti on the section, so it should be a fairly easy change. I've also go the club layout 1/2 set up in my spare space, I'm supposed to get turnouts wired, and some form of wiring on it... James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted December 21, 2017 Author Share Posted December 21, 2017 Well, a small order from Hattons is now on its way, just a pair of turnouts- one for the club layout, one for my own. I guess it is cork and tubes on the club layout tomorrow ! (or whatever else I get up to...) James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted February 23, 2018 Author Share Posted February 23, 2018 The club came, the club went. Sadly, so did my vision !. It turns out that one side-effect of being a diabetic is that my eyes are totally a mess. So, seeing much of anything is now a bit of a challenge. I'm not sure what that means overall, let alone for Long Marton. Certainly, I am not going to rip out what is already there- it works (ish), and as such, can always use scenic treatment. I can see to run trains, but text is a very hard go at this point. My GP and the diabetic nurse said that it should get better over the next month or two, but I'm not holding my breath. I've been spending the last couple of weeks working on the Lego. New table arrangement has been taking shape, because I no longer need a 12x24 area for the club layout. (just 2x16 now...) James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted February 23, 2018 Share Posted February 23, 2018 The club came, the club went. Sadly, so did my vision !. It turns out that one side-effect of being a diabetic is that my eyes are totally a mess. So, seeing much of anything is now a bit of a challenge. I'm not sure what that means overall, let alone for Long Marton. Certainly, I am not going to rip out what is already there- it works (ish), and as such, can always use scenic treatment. I can see to run trains, but text is a very hard go at this point. My GP and the diabetic nurse said that it should get better over the next month or two, but I'm not holding my breath. I've been spending the last couple of weeks working on the Lego. New table arrangement has been taking shape, because I no longer need a 12x24 area for the club layout. (just 2x16 now...) James Hi James, I'm sorry to read once again about your sight problems, I can't begin to imagine how it must be. I just hope that at least running Trains on LM and doing the Lego Project will satisfy some enjoyment in the hobby, and that things do improve soon. All the very best, Andy. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 Wiring for DC ! (Good news- not Long Marton, that's for sure !) I've gotten some of the bits used in the older parts of Long Marton (pre 2006...), and are using them to wire the BRMoV's new layout. So far, 3, 3 pole rotary switches & a DPDT have been reused in the wiring, along with getting a sheet of plexi to use for the plastic. Next up is taking out the bits I put in today, then painting the Plexi on the underside. It's likely a 4 colour operation- Black, Blue, Red, Yellow. I don't think the track plan has been posted, I have a SCARM design of it but not a JPG. Typical eh? Anyway, that's my tin mouse sized excitement for the week. I did work on Lego, and I should be able to get a video of it as it is now, but since today was spent working on ^, I'm out of time for it. James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted May 15, 2018 Author Share Posted May 15, 2018 I'm still at it. The last couple of days have seen a total of 9 servo operated turnouts being put together, with one more to do. Next is adding the microswitches to some more of them. Today's fun was dealing with the layout transportation device (aka full sized van), as it's brakes were...thin. Given that in ~9 years, we've put under 100 000 km on it, it's not too high a priority until I need it. Anyway, new brakes fitted, one more servo installed tonight, one more for tomorrow AM, then off to see the Dr for my 3 month checkup. Victoria (BC) train show is in 2 weeks at Juan de Fuca rec centre. The new club layout will be there, along with Lego trains. I have a crazy idea for a new lego train, but haven't started working on it yet. (hint- 'chard hates it ) James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted May 17, 2018 Author Share Posted May 17, 2018 9 servo's so far, with a planned operating session next week @ John's, as his house is closer to most of the rest of the club than I am ! (9 microswitches too, which is more important, really...) There were a couple of interesting failures today, mostly because this was the first time I turned the microswitches downside up, and things moved. Ah well... it only took me ~30 min to figure out which one was causing me grief. (not the one I thought was...) 4 hours of soldering up the 10 servo cable (12" of .1" pins...) and I got them all correct, no shorts. Then I had to change which wire went where, to get all the turnouts to operate with the correct switches. Next: find a box of stock for operating. I'm not sure what I have that is DC, other than Thomas & the other really useful engines... James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted August 1, 2018 Author Share Posted August 1, 2018 Ok, o the club layout has had a bit of a summer hiatus. Reason? 107 FM. Means not much... until I add Lancaster to it. John is president of the aviation museum, and has been busy with the bid to relocate 107FM to Victoria. I can remember it at the Queensway park in Toronto. Long Marton is back up and running, with my Allen learning how to be signalman. Unfortunately, he doesn't believe me that the trains run on cups of tea ! So far we,be had most of the trains run through, with the usual interesting problems of dirty track and rail. I'm going to add a stay alive to the 3f, it is very unhappy with power pickup for no good reasons. That will wait until after I have returned to my new job of heating plant operator though, as I lack dosh to spend on toys right now. This retirement gig isn't quite all it was cracked up to be . (Actually, things worked about exactly how I had figured from a money sense...) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted September 19, 2018 Author Share Posted September 19, 2018 I took it apart ! (but wait...it's a modular layout...) So at present, Long Marton has been ripped into some of its constituent parts, to allow me to work on the "back" side scenery, that past the tracks on the Long Marton Village side. I'd put about 2 bags of Woodland Scenics turf on the inside, but since the LM village side isn't as easy to work on, it had far less work done on it. Plaster. Paint. Grass. I'm also working again. Not full time at all, but that's going to eat into the hours of time I used to waste on the computer ! James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted September 20, 2018 Share Posted September 20, 2018 I took it apart ! (but wait...it's a modular layout...) So at present, Long Marton has been ripped into some of its constituent parts, to allow me to work on the "back" side scenery, that past the tracks on the Long Marton Village side. I'd put about 2 bags of Woodland Scenics turf on the inside, but since the LM village side isn't as easy to work on, it had far less work done on it. Plaster. Paint. Grass. I'm also working again. Not full time at all, but that's going to eat into the hours of time I used to waste on the computer ! James Morning James, good to see work still progressing on LM and a day or two out at work will give the brain a chance to think of new ideas. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted November 14, 2018 Author Share Posted November 14, 2018 I've done a little more of the plaster work on Long Marton. There are a couple of changes coming up in this thread- 1. Flickr. Means images are likely to go away. 2. I've been playing with the club layout. It was fun ! 3. Perhaps I will get Long Marton put back together soon. Or at least, I might get more work done on it ! We took the club layout over to Vancouver Train Show, and had a good time with it. It has enough operational potential to shunt for several hours at a time. The only bad things so far we've figured out are that the S curve is a bit sharp, and one of the turnouts should not have been used. There is some contemplation of adding a crossover in the goods yard, I avoided it by using a 2nd loco to run around the train. I have to get on with making signals for it- there is a box of bits downstairs for me to work on. James James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 A bit of a comment, and then possibly I will add some new photos after... If you go back in this, I will have ended up breaking a lot of links. I've used Flickr since 2010 to store images. They shafted longtime users by changing model to where they only allow 1000 images to be hosted for free. I've broken a bunch of links by deleting the images. I am going to put some more of the history of Long Marton photos up, but they will be in a slideshow. Because you can put (10x60x30) images in a slide show, and it counts as 1 image. What dingbats. Clearly a revenue based move... James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 https://flic.kr/p/23R59gF and https://flic.kr/p/2d4KArM Just to prove that I have actually done something !. Not much, in some ways, but in other ways a lot to get to that state. 4/5 boards have had some scenic work done on them. (well, actually, all 5 have had work done, but the last one isn't coming out right now). This was so I could do some scenic work on the backside of the boards, which I have wanted to do for a while. Getting stuff done on Long Marton has been slow for a while. I'm hoping to pick up the pace somewhat, and get some more stuff done over the next year on LM. Next plan: I'm somewhat looking for someone to do some UK purchasing for me. GW Models and Marcway. Neither do Email, Paypal or Credit Card... James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted March 14, 2019 Author Share Posted March 14, 2019 Long Marton Progress: It went back together well for the Annual club visit last month. I've run trains 2 days since, and done more scenic work. I've been making trees, and need to see about a way of making taller (10" or higher) trees. I bought a static grass applicator (the Woodland Scenic's one), and a mess of static grasses. It's still experimental, in the form that I have done some in areas that are not really scenic for seeing how it all works, as well as doing a bunch of scenic area as well. My system for doing it is to saturate the area with hairspray, put in a ground pin, then grass around. While I still would like to get some stuff from the UK, it all depends on number of hours that I work. The more I work, the more stuff I end up having to buy...but not for the railway. (though I have managed to get some stuff from Otter Valley...). The club layout went to Nanaimo train show this last weekend. All I proved to myself was that in fact, 29+ hours awake at a stretch are still possible. The layout has issues- which to anyone who has exhibited a layout, they probably have seen. At least one section is not getting return power, which is a bit annoying for operation. A couple of other bits need some further gremlins removing. But, scenically, it actually looks far better now than it had. The very liberal (!) application of dye in alcohol brought the ballast colours to be far more uniform than the 6 different types of ballast that was used. The relayed S curve is much easier for stock to travel over. Operationally, adding the run around loop in the goods yard means that it is far more practical to run 2 trains at once. One other thing I learned is why NCE Powercab comes with so many warnings in the UK about isolating the track power and accessory power. It trips super fast in comparison to my more normal Digitrax kit, which is set to 1/2 second short. With Servos driving Microswitches, the layout suffers from instant shorts when changing some turnouts. That resets the NCE cab when the Digitrax one would not be phased by it. Lesson: Next time, I need to bring the Digitrax kit with me. Next Victoria (BC) show is May 5th at JdF curling rink. I won't be there, as I am in charge of Modern City at Brick Can over the same weekend. James 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted October 23, 2019 Author Share Posted October 23, 2019 So, I did actually manage some work on Long Marton over the last 6 months- I planted some trees. You trees at home by Peach James, on Flickr I'm making more at work, it just takes time to do them. James 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted October 24, 2019 Share Posted October 24, 2019 The Trees look good James, I really must have a go at making some for my next project. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted January 29, 2020 Author Share Posted January 29, 2020 More trees planted. I also bit the bullet, and bought 3 of the Metcalf kits for the S&C- a station, platform shelter and the stationmasters house. I have part finished brick station & platform shelter, but I just have gotten to where I wanted something that was done to plop onto the layout. So, I spent an enjoyable day or so building them- the station is sitting beside me right now. I'm waiting on Peco to release the single and double slips, then I will think hard about relaying all of LM in Bullhead. I bought enough Marcway turnouts off Jeff that I have them, but as Peco are obliging us, I suspect that is what I will end up doing. In stock news, I bought a few more wagons- and boy, has the price of wagons jumped a lot since I first populated LM. Way back before Bachmann released the SLP's, a mineral could be had for about 6 quid...not so much now !. 7 wagons for LM, 5 for the little lad's OO9, and the Metcalf kits were...well...most of my own Christmas shopping money ! James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted May 4, 2020 Author Share Posted May 4, 2020 I've been running trains- one thing I have found helpful is now the big lad is big enough to almost be useful, some of the time :). Long Marton works better if there is someone on both sides, because then I don't have to duck under when a train derails entering the staging yard. There are a couple places I am aware of problems, I need to video to see if I can figure out exactly where the problems are then shim/pack track to adjust. I ran through about 1/2 of the trains yesterday, with none planned for today as I am at work. The big lad setup my Kato Unitrack and the Pendolino (Rapido/ revolutioN), so that's on the floor under the lego right now. I found out I need more unitrack than I have...that's a shock !, so ordered some more. More trees have been made than in the photo above, and I have been mucking around with the static grass. I still can't get tall grass to stand up well- I can see a bit of a strip & retry will be required for one area, as it is getting very overgrown with fallen down grass. (it's the sightline in the forest...I want to be able to see the trains occasionally !) James Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted May 7, 2020 Author Share Posted May 7, 2020 More trees made. I made one using F55 ("early fall"), and it is so tempting...but no...I think it will go live somewhere else, like on the planned 6' board for the club layout. (I'll probably have to make more though...but that is a next fall project now, I think...) I see Peco are back to making track. I'll wait till my favorite wirrel store has stock and then contemplate my navy...er naval, and see how far the $ stretches. That too, may get pushed off till the fall when I get back to work. (I have about 3 weeks left before the end of heating season, and still have bills to pay which are more important than modeling supplies...I have coaches I can work on though...) James 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
saxokid Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 Trees look spot on James,im just in middle of making some... 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted July 15, 2020 Author Share Posted July 15, 2020 I've been distracted: Working on Canadian Puget Sound II, the ride on railway. I've also been buying more N gauge stuff, there is a 4 loop Kato Unitrack layout under the Lego, with a 7 coach Supercontinental waiting for some engines...I needed a new scale like a hole in my head... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted September 30, 2020 Author Share Posted September 30, 2020 Things are afoot inside- unfortunately, not in a positive direction yet. I have to move all of Long Marton out of it's home, into wherever around the place I can move bits. I've gotten the 3 staging boards apart, next will be the New Biggin curves coming out. Why? I have to get a plumber in to run propane (Calor gas) in the house. I need to replace my furnace, which means I need to go to direct vented, which means it has to go to Propane (no piped gas out here...). It's been on the long term list since about oh, 2010, that I should get a bunch of house related bits done at the same time. 1: Propane furnace. 2: Instant On (tankless) hot water heater 3: Gas Plumbed for Rangetop. 4: Large (15-22 kw) standby Generator. So, the gas line has to run the length of the railway room, and I likely need to remove all evidence of Long Marton from the furnace room for the duration. I am hopeful that I can leave the Appleby end curve in place, but that depends on what the contractor will say about clearances. The thoughts I have are to do some work on the walls while I have LM apart- I will probably muck around with the setup of overhead space above Long Marton. There is quite a lot of "dead" volume that could be filled with storage. Unfortunately, the basement is not high enough to consider adding a mushroom level, I don't think...and I'm not going to get into digging out a pit in the floor to lower Long Marton down to say, 22". (though the thought...) (out tape measure, and I can only go up 16" which is the upper lego height, or down...and I don't know what "down" looks like, but suspect that there isn't that much down till I would get to hard pan...) Anyway, back to goofing around at various ideas and much tidying, 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted October 12, 2020 Author Share Posted October 12, 2020 Current state of play: Yes, Long Marton has been taken into its sections, and is moving. I've got to do some work on the house, so the railway has to move. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
peach james Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 So, moving on from the above, I've done some more work on the room. and The next part is there are 3 more doors for the cabinets to fit. I'm also going to string RGB LED lighting under the cabinets, which is going to happen "early" in the next stage. I have to pull the ceiling down, in order to expose where the gas line will go, so first I will put in the under cabinet lighting. Everything left in that area of the basement is on wheels, so it is easy enough to move it from one side to the other. Somehow in my calculations I ended up with an extra sheet of 1/4" ply. The cabinets are Ikea. James 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew P Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Wow James, quite an upheaval there, looks worse than my house move. I hope you get it sorted soon and things running again. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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