railwayrod Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 A bit more progress this afternoon. Howard has been working on my new Dapol brake van and has given it a light initial coat of rust around the under frame. He has also removed the overhead flashes from the sides of the van as these would have been a slightly later addition to the vehicle than my layout attempts to depict. Since my last post "buffer stops" have been added to the newly laid sidings in the fiddle yard (see photo) which should prevent the tension lock couplings getting damaged in the event of a heavy shunt or a runaway. Rod 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Bri.s Posted November 5, 2018 Share Posted November 5, 2018 Nice progress on the fiddle yard Rod Brian Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 At Telford last September I purchased several Point Drop Stops from Parliamentary Trains. To date I had not done anything with these but when Howard dropped in this afternoon to do some more weathering/painting on my BR brake van I decided to have a go. All the points in the station area were fitted with thin strips of plastic cemented into the bottom of the frogs and this smoothed out the running quite a lot. However the fiddle yard had not been so treated hence my purchase at Telford. Using a marker pen I coloured the inserts before popping them out of their wooden frets and placing them into the frogs of the fiddle yard. Pushing a wagon through these points resulted in a much smoother ride with little of no drop as the wheels traversed the frog area. This task proved to be so easy and the results are excellent. I must add that I have no connection with the manufacturers other than being a satisfied customer. Rod 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 I am not sure you can ever have too many brake vans. If you do you can get away with an unusual loco hauling a brake van special! Paul R 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted November 14, 2018 Share Posted November 14, 2018 (edited) Howard and I visited the Taunton exhibition last Saturday with two other friends and had a thoroughly enjoyable day. I had not intended to make huge purchases but for some time now Ramchester has been short of a brake van. The Slater's kit I had started seems to have stalled somewhat and my workmanship on it leaves a lot to be desired. Then when I heard that Dapol were to produce one I decided to add it to my stock. So it will be no surprise to you all that when I caught sight of several at the Taunton show on the C & L stand (I think), out came my credit card and a bauxite BR version found its way into my bag. Here are a couple of pictures of the van standing in the siding next to the coal yard DSC03322 (2).JPG DSC03323 (2).JPG Today Howard has been busy removing the overhead warning signs and has made a start on weathering it for me. I will post some pictures of it when he has finished his work with the paint brush. I also had a visit from Peter who brought his friend along who is German by birth but had lived in this country for about 30 Years so he speaks very good English. This turned out to be fortuitous as I discovered an electrical fault leaving the main line into Ramchester without power. Peter and his friend Frank got to work and traced the fault to a dry soldered joint which was soon put right. What a lucky chap I am to have good friends who can help me out of trouble when it rears its ugly head. Rod Nice BV Rod, I have a grey one. I'm slowly building a collection of BVs, for an occasional BV Special... Its great to have good friends. ATVB, M. Edited November 14, 2018 by CME and Bottlewasher 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted November 23, 2018 Share Posted November 23, 2018 (edited) My friend Peter Martin dropped by this afternoon to give his new loco a run. This is a Dapol 57XX Panier tank numbered 5717 in black livery with an early crest. From my observations this model looks superb and it will be a popular choice by modellers of the GWR. It ran very well although in my view the sound system is not quite as good as the Minerva Panier. This is a subjective view I know and many people will be more than happy with this loco. Here are a couple of photos of it standing in Ramchester. Peter is going to weather it and also fit late crests to the tank sides which if I know him he will do next week. My Dapol BR brake van is almost finished as Howard has more or less completed the weathering and fitted the Bachmann tension lock couplings. With a bit of luck I will post pictures next time. Rod Edited November 23, 2018 by railwayrod 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Well the brake van is now in service having been completed by Howard. As promised here are a couple of shots of the finished vehicle. Also another shot of Peters Pannier tank hauling my Warflat well wagon. All for now Rod 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
N15class Posted December 2, 2018 Share Posted December 2, 2018 Very nice. Just caught up I like the fiddle yard improvements. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted December 10, 2018 Share Posted December 10, 2018 I have been quite busy during the last few days so not too much has been done to Ramchester. However for some time now I have wanted to put some of my DB stock on display and to make it more accessible when I feel like giving it a run. So when Maggie returned from Lydl following part of our weekly shop with their latest leaflet I noticed that they had an offer on a display cabinet. Checking the size I figured that I could fit it into Platform 2 albeit at floor level and as the price seemed quite reasonable we set off to our local store to purchase one. It took me a couple of days to sort out the parts and to assemble it but I managed it in the end. The unit comes with no less than 10 shelves and for 00 or N this is fine however for 0 gauge I had to reduce this to 7 shelves in order to give me the necessary clearance - not a problem as the shelves are fully adjustable. Today I have spent the afternoon unboxing my DB locos and some of the stock very carefully and placing them onto the shelves. This will enable me to pick out a loco from the cabinet and give it a run whenever I want to without the fear of damaging the model when taking it in and out it its box (Lenz, MBW and Brava all pack their products in fairly tight plastic or foam interiors within the box). I still have quite a lot more DB rolling stock but at present I have no more room for another cabinet until I have a rearrangement programme in place. Anyway enough of my ramblings here are a couple of photos of the unit - one with the doors open and the other with the doors shut. All for now. Rod 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted December 10, 2018 Author Share Posted December 10, 2018 (edited) That BR64 would look even better running on Brückenheim! Edited December 11, 2018 by HSB Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 (edited) Lucky chap we never get decent kit like that in our local Lidl Edited December 12, 2018 by CME and Bottlewasher Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted December 12, 2018 Share Posted December 12, 2018 Hi CME. I have to admit that in the past I have always been a bit wary when buying Kit built furniture. However I have had several items from Lydl over the years including tools and similar items and I have always been very happy with them.The cabinet cost me 1p less than £50 and is of very good quality so I need not have feared about the purchase at all. It went together extremely well and the parts fitted perfectly into place without any cleaning up to do. You do need to be a little careful to ensure that you get the front uprights the right way round when assembling them but otherwise a straight forward job to do. One word of warning make sure you have a vehicle when you pick it up from the store as it is HEAVY. The weight of glass alone makes it so and added to the quality components the package is far to heavy to carry home!! Just in case anyone is wondering I have no connection with Lydl other than being a satisfied customer. Rod 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Re6/6 Posted December 14, 2018 RMweb Gold Share Posted December 14, 2018 (edited) I was invited to visit Ramchester today with a few folks including Baron H. Here's a rather shaky phone film of Rod's newly weathered and sound fitted 4F. https://youtu.be/I6qHWQNYckI Edited December 14, 2018 by Re6/6 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted December 15, 2018 Share Posted December 15, 2018 That sound chip sounds pretty good, is the loco a Bachmann BL all brass job? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Thanks John for doing the video and for your comments CME. The 4F (Gladiator kit) was built for me by Dave Murdock from Bristol before I finally decided to go DCC. It then travelled to the far distant regions of cold North to a chap called Jintyman who fitted it with a Zimo chip with a Paul Chetter programme. David then applied his skills to weathered it before he sent it back to Ramchester to perform duties on this busy branch! Rod 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted December 16, 2018 Share Posted December 16, 2018 Nice model Rod, I rather like the look of the connoisseur model's version too. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 (edited) Last week one or two of my friends came round for an afternoons operating session on the layout. Here are some photos of the event. John Drummond Smith (formally Torbay Model Supplies) brings a local train into the station. Afternoon drinks with from left to right John Drummond Smith, John Farmer, Brian Harrap, Peter Martin, and John Day Brian and John both running trains in the station. It was a great afternoon and it was nice for me to set back and enjoy watching the layout being operated! Rod Edited December 24, 2018 by railwayrod 12 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
HSB Posted December 20, 2018 Author Share Posted December 20, 2018 (edited) We had a little session this afternoon and Brian brought his camera to see if he can get some sharp photos looking along the layout using focus stacking. We look forward to seeing the results after he's had a play on his computer. I tried taking a couple of shots with my phone from an unusual angle:- Edited December 24, 2018 by HSB 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CME and Bottlewasher Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Wonderful! Lucky chaps! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 Just a quick post to wish everyone who follows the story of my layout a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2019. Rod 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
bgman Posted December 24, 2018 Share Posted December 24, 2018 Thank you Rod and all the very best to you and your good lady. Grahame Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
dymstocklr Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 Just a quick post to wish everyone who follows the story of my layout a very happy Christmas and a prosperous 2019. Rod And seasons greetings to you and Howard. Nice to see John Drummond Smith enjoying himself - haven't seen him since the shop shut what seems like eons ago! Bill Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
railwayrod Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 The Christmas Day Special This years Christmas Day Special was indeed special. I have always had an interest in the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway and when Dapol announced their Jinty in S & D blue livery I just had to have one. Even better when Hat tons held their Sate of the Century just before Christmas in which They they advertised one fully DCC sound fitted for £280 out came my card and it duly arrived within 24 hours. So this years CDS had to have this loco at its helm. Yes I know that Ramchester is supposed to be a very long way from the S & D but what the heck. As they say "Tiz my layout etc". Anyway enough of this here are a few pictures of the loco running into Ramchester hauling a Warwell plus a BR brake van. As usual the "cargo" was a two part present for my dear wife Maggie which formed part of her Christmas gifts. Rod 17 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Hal Nail Posted January 2, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted January 2, 2019 What happens if she wants something out of gauge? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pwr Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Will you be fitting Whittaker Tablet Exchangers to Ramchester? Paul R Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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