fezza Posted May 26, 2020 Share Posted May 26, 2020 Good work - the messy plaster bit is my least favourite part of modelling but absolutely essential. By the way does anyone know if there are plans to reopen the remaining parts of the SPAP metre gauge system? This was a great asset for tourists visiting the Pelopennese. Last time I was in Greece only a small suburban section was open in Patras. It seems such a shame after so much money was spend modernising the system in the early 2000s. The old Corinth station was a very melancholic place last time I visited - there were several lines of rusting metre gauge stock. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manosfromgreece Posted May 26, 2020 Author Share Posted May 26, 2020 3 hours ago, fezza said: By the way does anyone know if there are plans to reopen the remaining parts of the SPAP metre gauge system? Hi Fezza, I understad that they are working on the new standard gauge and some parts are already available to traffic. Some parts of the metric one are going to be kept for heritage railways. I'm going to find more in due time as over the social media information is not always trustworthy... Manos 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manosfromgreece Posted May 27, 2020 Author Share Posted May 27, 2020 So today I started working to the hill side. What I did first was to remove the piece of the backscene that will be hidden by the hill just in case it proves usefull in the future. Anyway it would be lost... Then I started stacking pieces in an ascentic way towards the back corner side. The hot glue method obviously didn't work as it was melteing the foam so PVA was used instead. And this is where it stands at the moment The idea is to form three gradually ascenting levels and these will be formed with the hot wire and knife before the application of plaster cloth and other similar terain forming methods as I discover them...The tunnel entrance has been purposely left wide open so as to prepare the interior of the tunnel before the entrance. The road is going to have a typical Greek mountaneous form of an S shape, starting on the forward side, turning left on the second level and finaly turning right on the third and last level. But more on my next post. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Vecchio Posted May 28, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted May 28, 2020 The problem with PVA is it will take very long to dry. It may dry quick on the edges where the air can access but if you have a larger area it will stay liquid in the inside. For this reason (and as I am not always patient) I used epoxy resin glue. As this one hardens on a chemical reaction it will also harden inside larger areas. Wilko sells slow and fast curing versions for reasonable prices. 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manosfromgreece Posted May 28, 2020 Author Share Posted May 28, 2020 7 hours ago, Vecchio said: The problem with PVA is it will take very long to dry. It may dry quick on the edges where the air can access but if you have a larger area it will stay liquid in the inside. Thanks Vecchio, that's very useful info I was not aware off. I'll check it now. Manos Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manosfromgreece Posted June 6, 2020 Author Share Posted June 6, 2020 (edited) So as I'm preparing for my next steps on the hill side and trying to set up my mind on that, I thought of giving a try on the points. The idea is that curently I'll create a panel with switches to operate manualy the point motors as I'm not commited yet on working with them on DCC. This is curently the rail diagram altough I'm considering adding another siding to the fiddle yard. As it is, it has 8 points. This is my small selection of point motors. I bought them over the last couple years on my occasional visit to the local model shop or model shows. The first thing was to dig them out and solder wires on them. I have a small collection of Peco and Seep in various models each, a CDU by https://www.modellingelectronics.co.uk/subcategories/1/model-railway-circuits/ and various switches etc. The idea of the Seep point motor was that since it is smaller in size than the Peco, I could use these under the layout and close to the frame that there is not enough space for the Peco to be fitted. In reality after checking, the space is not enough even for the Seep as I wrongly put the front rail very close to the edge of the layout but I believe that after a little surgery will work fine. And this is where you do a step forward and then 10 steps back. I thought of installing the first point motor to the right side front point but somehow the hole underneeth was not big enough for the point to work properly. No problem I thought, I'll just use the drill to make it a little wider. Yes sure! Before I realized, I destroyed the point and obviously I had to remove it so as to replace it. And that is not the problem, I'm used on learning by destroying! The problem is that I have no more points and of course the local model shops are closed due to the COVID-19. I'll have to wait for an internet order... Anyway I cleared up and prepared the space for the new point (not showing properly on the above picture) and left to do the ordering. More on my next post as usual... Edited June 6, 2020 by manosfromgreece 1 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manosfromgreece Posted December 25, 2020 Author Share Posted December 25, 2020 I can't believe I have not done anything with my trains since June. Usual excuses apply: life got in the way. But it is Christmas today and Santa brought me a present! A nice weathered tank wagon with OSE signs bought from Greece through Ebay. It is a PIKO wagon. So I hope this will now ignite my interest to return to my layout. Merry Christmas everyone! 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Gwinnett Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Merry Christmas! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allegheny1600 Posted December 26, 2020 Share Posted December 26, 2020 Merry Christmas from me too, Manos! All the best, John 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Vecchio Posted December 26, 2020 RMweb Premium Share Posted December 26, 2020 Manos, Merry Christmas also from me. Got my layout out of the shed and played and repaired it a bit. There should be time also for you to proceed.... 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandraStation Posted March 21, 2021 Share Posted March 21, 2021 I recently discovered your thread Manos - excellent work! And very inspiring - I look forward to seeing more of your progress! Greetings from a fellow Greek modeller (from Canada), John 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
manosfromgreece Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 5 hours ago, MandraStation said: I recently discovered your thread Manos - excellent work! And very inspiring - I look forward to seeing more of your progress! Greetings from a fellow Greek modeller (from Canada), John Hi John, thanks for your kind words. as they say, life got in the way and I haven't done anything recently to the layout. Your comment I hope to work as a wake up call! 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
MandraStation Posted March 22, 2021 Share Posted March 22, 2021 19 hours ago, manosfromgreece said: Hi John, thanks for your kind words. as they say, life got in the way and I haven't done anything recently to the layout. Your comment I hope to work as a wake up call! It is certainly difficult to keep the momentum going especially in these challenging times - the reward of a functioning layout is certainly worth it though! 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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