Eastwood Town - A tribute to Gordon's modelling.

[Barry O]

Break the train up by adding some Vans which are clean, some which have less of the brown base coat on (with steam engines you do get "blackish" dirt on roof sections and sides.

 

24 in one go is too many, most I have done is 24 Iron Ore tipplers for someone. I worked in batches of 6 and had some really good colour photos to work from. He didn't mention that someone else had done the wagons in his Railway of the Month Article in RM...PAH!

 

I have found a few really interesting weathered wagons in recent colour book purchases. The Palvan Shock is done from a photo in the Books on the Midland around Bradford,

 

 

don't know why that half of the van was cleaned but it is in the photo so..off you go!

 

baz

[Michael Edge]

More likely a bit of re-painting, I don't think any wagons were ever cleaned.

[Enterprisingwestern]

23 minutes ago, Michael Edge said:

More likely a bit of re-painting, I don't think any wagons were ever cleaned.

 

Only when it rained!

 

Mike.

[gordon s]

Evening all.....Had good day when things went to plan for a change....

 

Tony W picked up that my O1 had the wrong pony wheels fitted, so changed them across for some Alan Gibson ones. I hadn't picked up the wiring on this loco was a live chassis, so there were a few sparks when I fitted the new wheels. The new ones are fully insulated, so once I removed the wiring to the live chassis the fireworks died down a bit. The tender was part of the pick up system and that was connected via a live stud/wiper, so took that out and hard wired it. It now runs well and has been chugging round most of the day.

 

 

I made some subtle changes to the van colourings, so they don't look quite so uniform now.

 

For some reason my Fiatrains 10001 threw a wobbler and belted off at full speed. Luckily I managed to catch it. Once I got the body off I could see a Lenz Gold decoder had come loose from it's sticky pad and whilst there was no smoke and no visible damage. The decoder still tested OK until the test finished and then it raced again. No idea how a decoder can pass as successful, yet still have an issue after testing. Either way, too risky to have that happen again, so the decoder went into the bin and with a new one fitted it was fine.

 

Running it around there was a continual derailment at one point and looking at it carefully there was a raised lump in the track of about a mm. Basically down to me as I'd laid it badly. I had got away with it before with Bachmann/Hornby/Heljan wheels, but the Ultrascales with their finer flanges saw the front bogie wheel lift over the hump. As it was on a curve, the same wheel came down again, missing the rail completely.

 

Thought about it for a while and nothing could be done other than lifting four inches or so and digging out the track base to lower the rail between the two turnouts. Decided to cut halfway across the width of a copper sleeper and then butt join some new rail in position, set the gauge and then add the new sleepers.

 

 

Pleased to say it went well and problem solved. Still needs cleaning, painting and ballasting, but the loco sails through it now, with now sign of the wheel lifting at all.

 

 

More of the same tomorrow as I know of another spot with the same problem. At least having done it once, I know it will work.

 

Highlight of the week tomorrow, the bins have to go out......

 

 

[Barry O]

Just an idea Gordon.. have you some very light coloured ballast/ If you use that it would like a real rail patch...

 

Just thinking out loud like!

 

Baz

[Siberian Snooper]

Glad to see that the gremlins are getting sorted out.  One thing that has surprised me,  that for a died in the wool Northeastern aficionado we haven't yet seen any streaks hammering through ET yet.

 

 

[gordon s]

You’re very observant SS.....

 

I did have a couple of Golden Age A4’s, Mallard and Commonwealth of Australia, but sold them 5 years ago. Beautiful loco’s, but at the time I couldn’t see a way forward and I had a very good offer for them both, so decided to sell them almost for what I paid. I’m still unsure about sound loco’s  Diesels are better than steam, but sometimes I yearn for the simply clickety click of metal wheels over gaps and end up turning off the sound to get some peace.......

 

That leaves a few Hornby and Bachman ones, which I will get round to, but somehow the more unusual loco’s that have been shut away for years are more interesting...

 

Right now the main focus is correcting small (but time consuming) issues with track. I’m convinced no matter how well you make pointwork and lay track, there are so many variables that can cause problems. Differences in side play on loco’s, small differences in height along adjoining rails, consistent back to back measurements and so on, can all lead to tight spots or derailments. I go through every turnout with as many different loco’s as possible, running them through slowly, mid speed and flat out in each direction, before I can relax and make a start on stock and scenic work. To me, there is no point in having a beautifully landscaped layout if trains stop and start or derail over pointwork.

 

Each to their own of course......

 

Just a change of subject if I may. I have several loco’s to move on to raise some funds for new releases in 2020 and next year. What’s the score these days with eBay in terms of prices and interest?

 

My gut feel is that with the uncertainly on employment etc, model loco’s and stock are hardly family priorities and we could see far fewer sales and lower prices. Is that the case or too early to say?
 

 

Edited May 3, 2020 by gordon s

[hayfield]

7 minutes ago, gordon s said:

 

Just a change of subject if I may. I have several loco’s to move on to raise some funds for new releases in 2020 and next year. What’s the score these days with eBay in terms of prices and interest?

 

My gut feel is that with the uncertainly on employment etc, model loco’s and stock are hardly family priorities and we could see far fewer sales and lower prices. Is that the case or too early to say?
 

 

 

As far as kits and kit built items prices have shot up as folk have time on their hands, also had a couple of calls from locals who have got their train sets out and started setting themselves up with layouts, too much time on their hands with nothing to do.

 

As far as buying goes not bought any auction items for 3 weeks until tonight, just 1 set of HMRS lining on buy it now. There seems less on the market for a week or so, which might have prompted eBay having a £1 max selling fees ending tomorrow. Have a look in your eBay messages and activate the offer if you have one. Looks to me to be a good time to sell

 

[polybear]

3 hours ago, gordon s said:

Evening all.....Had good day when things went to plan for a change....

 

Tony W picked up that my O1 had the wrong pony wheels fitted, so changed them across for some Alan Gibson ones. I hadn't picked up the wiring on this loco was a live chassis, so there were a few sparks when I fitted the new wheels. The new ones are fully insulated, so once I removed the wiring to the live chassis the fireworks died down a bit. The tender was part of the pick up system and that was connected via a live stud/wiper, so took that out and hard wired it. It now runs well and has been chugging round most of the day.

 

 

I made some subtle changes to the van colourings, so they don't look quite so uniform now.

 

For some reason my Fiatrains 10001 threw a wobbler and belted off at full speed. Luckily I managed to catch it. Once I got the body off I could see a Lenz Gold decoder had come loose from it's sticky pad and whilst there was no smoke and no visible damage. The decoder still tested OK until the test finished and then it raced again. No idea how a decoder can pass as successful, yet still have an issue after testing. Either way, too risky to have that happen again, so the decoder went into the bin and with a new one fitted it was fine.

 

Running it around there was a continual derailment at one point and looking at it carefully there was a raised lump in the track of about a mm. Basically down to me as I'd laid it badly. I had got away with it before with Bachmann/Hornby/Heljan wheels, but the Ultrascales with their finer flanges saw the front bogie wheel lift over the hump. As it was on a curve, the same wheel came down again, missing the rail completely.

 

Thought about it for a while and nothing could be done other than lifting four inches or so and digging out the track base to lower the rail between the two turnouts. Decided to cut halfway across the width of a copper sleeper and then butt join some new rail in position, set the gauge and then add the new sleepers.

 

 

Pleased to say it went well and problem solved. Still needs cleaning, painting and ballasting, but the loco sails through it now, with now sign of the wheel lifting at all.

 

 

More of the same tomorrow as I know of another spot with the same problem. At least having done it once, I know it will work.

 

Highlight of the week tomorrow, the bins have to go out......

 

 

 

 

How old is the decoder Gordon?  I've a feeling Lenz may have 10 year warranty.

[gordon s]

Thanks John, just registered....

 

Do I have to advertise the items tomorrow or is it just registration by tomorrow? I probably have a dozen loco’s to sell, so don’t know I’ll have time to complete everything tomorrow. I’m guessing these £ offers come along frequently, so I may have to wait for the next offer.

 

As I said, my gut feel would be that uncertainty re employment and the future would impact the number of buyers and overall prices.

[gordon s]

3 minutes ago, polybear said:

 

 

How old is the decoder Gordon?  I've a feeling Lenz may have 10 year warranty.

Thanks Poly. I would guess 8-10 years ago, but I wouldn’t have any copies of proof of purchase. Never gave it a second thought and just binned it.
 

I really should have some form of admin to cover these issues, but life’s too short these days....

[thegreenhowards]

16 minutes ago, gordon s said:

Thanks John, just registered....

 

Do I have to advertise the items tomorrow or is it just registration by tomorrow? I probably have a dozen loco’s to sell, so don’t know I’ll have time to complete everything tomorrow. I’m guessing these £ offers come along frequently, so I may have to wait for the next offer.

 

As I said, my gut feel would be that uncertainty re employment and the future would impact the number of buyers and overall prices.

Prices seem to be holding up to me based on what I’ve not won! I think that for every person who’s being careful with money, there’s another who’s bored at home and playing trains. Put a couple on tomorrow while the £1 offer is on and see how it goes.

 

Andy

[Enterprisingwestern]

 

Those vans look so much better Gordon, a triumph IMHO.

 

Just for you;

 

 

 

Mike.

[hayfield]

45 minutes ago, gordon s said:

Thanks John, just registered....

 

Do I have to advertise the items tomorrow or is it just registration by tomorrow? I probably have a dozen loco’s to sell, so don’t know I’ll have time to complete everything tomorrow. I’m guessing these £ offers come along frequently, so I may have to wait for the next offer.

 

As I said, my gut feel would be that uncertainty re employment and the future would impact the number of buyers and overall prices.

 

Gordon

 

They have to be listed tomorrow, why not pick 4 locos and take 1 photo of each

 

Unless you have an existing template (always worth having one in the background) It may take half an hour or more to do the first one, as soon as you list one press sell similar, the template comes back again, just change the details and photo, just a few mins to list subsequent listings. Go back later and add further details at leisure. Or you can have 2 tabs up at one time and just copy and paste from one to another, then save as a draft, and do another until all your items are saved as drafts. then later in the day list them at prime selling time

 

Worth making time as if you have expensive locos you can save £'s on fees. The worst bit is making the working template, after that its plane sailing, just revise listings for each different loco

[gordon s]

Thanks John. I don’t use a template as such, but have sold on eBay before. The photography is the time consuming bit as my view is that pin sharp pics go a long way to promote an item. These are all brand new loco’s still in their boxes , so I would normally take 4-6 pics of the loco, box and paperwork.

 

Any views on the starting price on loco’s that retail over a £100?

 

Are starting and reserve pricing within the £ selling fees or are the options controlled just to the basics and once you step outside those restrictions, do you then pay full price?

Edited May 3, 2020 by gordon s

[hayfield]

1 hour ago, gordon s said:

Thanks John, just registered....

 

Do I have to advertise the items tomorrow or is it just registration by tomorrow? I probably have a dozen loco’s to sell, so don’t know I’ll have time to complete everything tomorrow. I’m guessing these £ offers come along frequently, so I may have to wait for the next offer.

 

As I said, my gut feel would be that uncertainty re employment and the future would impact the number of buyers and overall prices.

 

I don't think the sell similar of someone else works, plan B find a similar loco which is on sale under the photo is have you one to sell, press the button a listing comes up just add a photo and a description, it can be revised and added to later, should be quite quick. If Boris can sort out 120,000 tests a day you should be able to list the odd loco !!

[Barry O]

Hi Gordon,

 

generally EBay charge low prices for the basic sale..then the add ons mount up like reserve pricing etc.

 

Start with the price you think is the  least you will sell it for .. check out the current prices of similar  items. I have turned my ebay auctions off for the time being as trying to post items is problematical for me at the moment.

 

baz

[hayfield]

5 minutes ago, gordon s said:

Thanks John. I don’t use a template as such, but have sold before. The photography is the time consuming bit as my view is that pin sharp pics go a long way to promote an item. These are all brand new loco’s still in their boxes , so I would normally take 4-6 pics of the loco, box and paperwork.

 

Any views on the starting price on loco’s that retail over a £100?

 

Are starting and reserve pricing within the £ selling fees or are the options controlled just to the basics and once you step outside those restrictions, do you then pay full price?

 

To start off with to make the listing take 1 photo, takes seconds. Add further photos when you have time.

 

I always start the items I sell at the minimum price I am willing to sell them at. If you use make me an offer If your minimum price is £80 put in to auto refuse of £90 (dont use the box where it automatically accepts bids) Before listing it shows costs I think putting in reserves costs, just start at your minimum acceptable price

[thegreenhowards]

25 minutes ago, gordon s said:

Thanks John. I don’t use a template as such, but have sold on eBay before. The photography is the time consuming bit as my view is that pin sharp pics go a long way to promote an item. These are all brand new loco’s still in their boxes , so I would normally take 4-6 pics of the loco, box and paperwork.

 

Any views on the starting price on loco’s that retail over a £100?

 

Are starting and reserve pricing within the £ selling fees or are the options controlled just to the basics and once you step outside those restrictions, do you then pay full price?

Gordon,

 

You don’t pay for a higher starting price anymore - they did away with that some years ago. A reserve price will cost you whether or not it sells, so as ‘Hayfield’ says, start with the lowest price you are prepared to accept. Alternatively, there is always a large market for new RTR stuff, so if you’re feeling risky you could start at £1 to draw people in. I think this generally works and results in a higher end price. However, it sometimes can fail miserably and leave you selling an item for less than you wanted. So if you’re risk averse start at the minimum you’re prepared to accept.

 

Andy

[gordon s]

Morning all. Another week gone. Hope one and all are well.

 

Sadly we lost one of our senior's during the week. I had enjoyed a round with him many times over the years and he was only in his mid 60's. I haven't heard whether it was Covid 19 or not, but every day we count our blessings and really hope we can get this under control soon. 

 

Managed to get eight locos up on eBay and they finish on Monday. Bids on two items already, but of course with eBay all the action is usually in the last few minutes. They are all new loco's that I thought would be needed. Yeah right....

 

Western Class 22's out of KX?...That was a cock up. Should have been 21's. Well they look similar...

 

A pair of new chassis V2's, that will be replaced by the new V2's in a year or so. Ashamed to say a Baby Deltic is on the list as well. No idea why I bought one as they were my least favourite of all the diesel loco's. They never looked right to me...

 

On the layout front, it's been a week of bits and bobs. Variety is the spice of life....

 

The Hornby Crosti 9F continues to run well, but I wanted to add pickups to the tender wheels and then hard wire it back to the decoder pick ups on the loco. It was fairly straightforward with a couple of bits of copper clad and 28 AWG phosphor bronze wire. Is that OK to use? It didn't seem particularly springy, but that may be a factor of the short lengths as space was quite limited.

 

SS kindly reminded me that he hadn't seen and A4's on ET. No problem, thought I. Found Golden Plover in one of the store boxes and plonked it on the track. I'd already fitted a decoder some time ago, but just as it started to move, I noticed the rear pair of front bogie wheels were not rotating. Strange, so off it came. For some reason they were very stiff and gummed up. No problem, one screw at the front and off with the body. Wrong!

 

Completely forgotten the speedo drive on one side and some additional rods on the other. No problem with the speedo drive, but the other side was a real pig to get back together.

 

 

Anyone know what this rod does in real life?

 

It doesn't seem to be on many A4's and the service sheet was vague in just how it should go back. It had come away completely at the body end and looking at it, I thought a rivet had fallen out and gone forever. It wasn't until I got a high power magnifier out, did I see a tiny hooked end that went onto a small rod under the bodywork. The crank end was OK as that was the normal pair of flats on the crank pin. I must have spent two hours with high power glasses and tweezers trying to get this hooked end back, but every time I finished and applied power, it came away again.

 

At one point, I thought b*gger it, I'll leave it off, no one will notice, but then it became a battle and one I was determined not to lose. Eventually after much cussing and swearing I got it back and it stayed on. Just be warned, never take the body off an A4 without undoing the crank pins first, but even then this rod will come loose and is a pig to put back.

 

Was it worth it?....Yup.

 

Good to see an A4 running at last....

 

 

I hope it's just the camera, but I seem to have some threepenny bit track work on the inside...

 

Still playing around with weathering powders, but got a telling off after treading in the dust on the floor and then walking it over the carpet....

 

Waiting for some matt varnish to arrive to give some protection, but made a start on the 16 tonners. Very much a work in progress, but at least they are not bright and shiny.

 

 

Other problem was the permanent closure of Platform 6 in ET station. The bay was touch and go, but 6 was a definite no no.  The reason being I hadn't really allowed sufficient cut back on the platform ends, to allow overhang clearance. It came to light when a Mk1 came to a dead stop when the battery box clouted the square end of the platform.

 

 

This is the platform 4 and it's very close. Decided in the end that I could move the platform ramps in and make them part of the main platform itself by cutting away the underside of the platform and then scoring the underside to allow it to bend over the slope.

 

 

This is how it was originally. This also solved the problem of the platform extending over a board join, so it can now sit on the two main boards. I can still get 7/8 coaches in the platform face so a win win all round. I have one of the platforms done and will attack the others later today, providing I don't get that call from the garden...

 

 

Still got a list of things to do, but there is a danger I will have to start of some scenic work soon. I can't start on the shed or traverser boards as our wood yard is still on a reduced service and walking round the yard to select bits of timber is not allowed. There's plenty to do for a few weeks yet and at least all the snagging will be out of the way before getting distracted into more major item builds.

Edited May 9, 2020 by gordon s

[sixoh8sixoh]

I’m shocked, you’re selling me! 

[gordon s]

Sorry Mike, I had hoped you wouldn't notice....

 

Sadly the temptation of a new V2 from Bachmann, overseen by Tony Wright, was too much to resist.

[Michael Edge]

If you mean the rod you have outlined in red it's the lubricator drive, it is on all A4s, they wouldn't get very far without it

[gordon s]

Thanks Mike. I had a quick look in Yeadons and it's actually hard to spot. I suspect this is a much later addition to RTR models, as I've not noticed it before.

[Barry O]

Gordon

unless the loft is going to be damp or you are forever handling the wagons with wet fingers forget the varnish. It isn't needed an it may just change the colour of the weathering. Yes the powders will come off.. but I have a 20 year old Ian Kirk Gresley BG (O Gauge) which only needed a bit of reweathering when someone spilled tea on it!  

 

keep up the good weathering work.

 

baz