Upbech St Mary, Upbech Drove and Pott Row a journey through 00 and then into EM and 009.

[mullie]

Nothing worth photographing but all track is now laid, chairs soldered on both sides and droppers added so wiring can commence. This included a new fiddle yard access road.

[NHY 581]

Sounds promising Martyn. 

 At this rate you will be finished by Sunday..............cough, cough.......

 

 

Rob 

[mullie]

Not finished but all pieces of track have now been wired up, each piece of track has its own dropper. Not simply two wires even though the layout is wired for DCC. Now need to install switches for wire in tube point control and wire them up for polarity control.

 

 

 

 

The drop down magnets are visible again for use by both S&W and Kadee couplings. Why the need for both? When I decided to go EM I expected to have my urban Rickett Street layout up and running before this one because dropping wheel sets into rtr diesels is easier than converting steam locos. That layout was to be a test bed for Kadee couplers, something I've always wanted to try.  However, when I discovered that Bullants could be regauged by pulling out the wheels and adjusting the pick ups plans changed and now it seems likely that Rickett Street may not be rebuilt at all in its current form, only time will tell.

 

Trains running again by the end of the week with a bit of luck. With the two sets of stock this layout could be run in a late 40s/ early 50s time frame and post steam which happened early in East Anglia.

 

I've also been watching quite a lot of US short line videos, now that is a dangerous path!

 

Martyn

[sb67]

Good to see you're getting somewhere, looking forward to seeing how you do your point control, thats something I can never quite feel confident about.

Steve.

[mjcampbell]

The drop-down magnets look interesting, how do you bring them up?

[mullie]

22 minutes ago, mjcampbell said:

The drop-down magnets look interesting, how do you bring them up?

If you look closely at the photos you just might be able to make out that I drilled a hole in the magnet, inserted a short brass screw, soldered a piece of wire to them and ran it out to the front of the layout. I might create some sort of handle at the front. Pulling the wire pulls the magnet up into position under the track. I can try and get some better photos if you wish, please ask.

 

Tests so far seem encouraging, to be honest I never expected to be able to run S&W and Kadee couplings on the same layout and had planned to build two different ones. Rickett Street was an urban layout, though originally set in the area around Olympia, the scenics owed more to the East London line, a route I know well from my University days in New Cross. It was planned to set it around 1967, the end of steam on the southern, a  theme I would like to return to though I need to sort out my geography and either set it in East or South London.

 

Hope this helps

 

Martyn

[mullie]

First test run successfully completed including into the fiddle yard.  Now to give the track a thorough clean and try it with a variety of stock and couplings before reinstating the scenery.

 

[NHY 581]

Great stuff Martyn. 

 

Splendid Bohemian backscene as well!!

 

Rob. 

[mullie]

Time warp time!

 

This stock hasn't been run for over a year though it has since been equipped with Kadee couplings. These views show wagons coupled and uncoupled using the hinged magnets. One magnet works fine, the other needs a bit of adjustment that I hope to do tonight.

 

 

 

 

 

An interloper that really shouldn't be in East Anglia, the Derby Lightweight is still awaiting conversion. The 127 simply had its wheels pulled out on the axes and some new pick ups added. I will probably use the Branchlines wheels for the lightweight as this seems quite straight forward.

 

 

But at least we have progress. The plan is to test the track over the next two weeks, then put the back scene boards back so scenic work can start in the autumn whilst developing further stock.

Edited August 16, 2019 by mullie

[mjcampbell]

On 12/08/2019 at 22:49, mullie said:

If you look closely at the photos you just might be able to make out that I drilled a hole in the magnet, inserted a short brass screw, soldered a piece of wire to them and ran it out to the front of the layout.

Ah, pull-string technology! Simple, but little to go wrong. Might have to copy that...

[mullie]

This thread was started in 2012 and my modelling has undergone a massive transformation since then.  In effect the thread has become a blog of the trails and tribulations of modelling finescale OO and then into EM with limited time and budget over seven years. 

 

Thoughts have recently turned to whether or not I should start a new thread or even a blog to better represent what I am doing now and to tidy things up. Any new piece would begin with a link to this one and perhaps I would get Andy to lock this one.

 

What recommendations do others have or should I leave it alone. I know there are many threads with far more pages though this has been a thread about modelling and as I only post around once a week it has stayed largely focussed on the layout?

 

Any thoughts gratefully received as I'm not sure of the best way to proceed.

 

Martyn

[37Oban]

17 minutes ago, mullie said:

This thread was started in 2012 and my modelling has undergone a massive transformation since then.  In effect the thread has become a blog of the trails and tribulations of modelling finescale OO and then into EM with limited time and budget over seven years. 

 

Thoughts have recently turned to whether or not I should start a new thread or even a blog to better represent what I am doing now and to tidy things up. Any new piece would begin with a link to this one and perhaps I would get Andy to lock this one.

 

What recommendations do others have or should I leave it alone. I know there are many threads with far more pages though this has been a thread about modelling and as I only post around once a week it has stayed largely focussed on the layout?

 

Any thoughts gratefully received as I'm not sure of the best way to proceed.

 

Martyn

Hi,

 

I'd keep this thread going.  Not everyone likes, or reads, blogs, and seeing how some-one overcomes trials and tribulations, or how to achieve a specific outcome, is one of the reasons for following threads such as yous.

 

Roja

[NHY 581]

2 hours ago, mullie said:

This thread was started in 2012 and my modelling has undergone a massive transformation since then.  In effect the thread has become a blog of the trails and tribulations of modelling finescale OO and then into EM with limited time and budget over seven years. 

 

Thoughts have recently turned to whether or not I should start a new thread or even a blog to better represent what I am doing now and to tidy things up. Any new piece would begin with a link to this one and perhaps I would get Andy to lock this one.

 

What recommendations do others have or should I leave it alone. I know there are many threads with far more pages though this has been a thread about modelling and as I only post around once a week it has stayed largely focussed on the layout?

 

Any thoughts gratefully received as I'm not sure of the best way to proceed.

 

Martyn

 

 

Hi Martyn. 

 

I have contemplated locking down the Sheep Chronicles on more than one occasion. 

 

People new to it have a couple of hundred pages to go through, which is not the best. 

 

However, with over a hundred members apparently now following events, I don't want to inconvenience people by opening up individual threads. 

 

So we have one place to refer to and socialise on, which I think is better. 

 

Your thread is almost a social history of your hobby and as such I would leave things alone. 

 

 

Rob

[Alex TM]

Hi Martyn,

 

From time-to-time I read through this thread from page one to ..... enjoying reading of the evolution and revolution of the layout.  That the layout has changed could be seen as encouraging that nothing is set in stone (a good idea).

 

Whatever your decision, it's the quality modelling that really counts.

 

Regards,

 

Alex.

[mullie]

More progress  today. The Spratt and Winkle couplings work with the Kadee magnets so long as the staple can move freely, though the metal axles do get sucked along. The cassettes have been re stocked today, here is the J15 on a beet train.

 

 

The J70 and the J72 are in the loco road with the J72 over the new ash pit.

 

 

The cushion is not an experiment in back scene design, rather it cushions the track when I have to lean the baseboard against the wall to fettle the wiring. Having spent many hours scratch building the track work I don't want to damage it against a rough garage wall.

 

I am experimenting with a slightly different S&W set up having seen a really good adaptation at Expo EM, more anon. I've also built a cockpit for a 1:72 Airfix spitfire that I have been given, a true return to childhood.

 

Thanks for the comments so far, on balance it seems my ramblings will remain here.

[mullie]

This week I have begun tweaking the S&W couplings having spent some time talking to the owner of a delightful Cambrian Railways layout "Llawryglynn." This layout used the 4mm version of the mk 1 coupling I use with a soldered wire to enable delayed uncoupling by soldering a wire that curves over the hook so this week I have worked to improved the profile of my 3mm couplings as seen in the photo.

 

Results are promising and it doesn't take too long to adapt the couplings. Some wagons have had a sponge brake added to stop them getting pulled along by the under track magnets

 

Next job, once these wagons are all done is to set up the Kadee couplings using the new height gauge that replaced the one I've lost.

[sb67]

I'd agree with everyone else, I like your thread and dont always follow blogs. I also look back on your pages for a bit of inspiration.

Steve.

[mullie]

The summer has not been as productive as I would have liked but progress is being made. More 'sunbed modelling' this weekend out of the country and on looking at things today a decision has been made to keep things simple whilst at the same time trying to future proof what I do build. I have a couple of small base boards laying around, the original intention being to build other layouts but time is short especially when everything needs converting to EM. Despite being 4mm scale EM does need a little more room so less is definitely more.

 

When the back scene boards go back on I would like to build in the possibility of extending the layout so I took the opportunity to make provision for joining another scenic board. First photo shows the track extension being worked out. The gap at the front will be a more developed harbour area inspired by places like Snape, Outwell Basin, Wisbech and Great Yarmouth.

 

 

Second photo takes a longer view of the same process. The board is around a metre long.

 

 

It might be helpful if the extension board could be joined directly to the fiddle yard so provision has been made for that too. My layouts are home layouts but I haven't ruled exhibitions out if invited. Third photo shows the fiddle yard being offered up to the new board.

 

 

There won't be a run round so two locos will always be needed.

 

 

[manna]

G'Day Folks

 

Board by board, we will get to Norwich.......................

 

manna

[mullie]

12 hours ago, manna said:

G'Day Folks

 

Board by board, we will get to Norwich.......................

 

manna

It will take a while, it's 190 miles from here to the Dartford crossing of the Thames let alone onto Norwich but I do like a challenge!

 

Martyn

[mullie]

Whilst the S&W couplings are tweaked the layout can run in 1960s mode. The intention is to capture that time in East Anglia when steam had all but disappeared but steam was still in use elsewhere. It also means a steam age infrastructure will be in place. Dr Ian Allen's book on diesels in East Anglia will be thumbed yet again tonight for inspiration. I must have had my copy for around forty years along with all his other books, I just wish he had dated his photos.

 

The loco needs renumbering and detailing but being over 20 years old it still runs very well. 

 

 

 

Kadee couplings are being adjusted and the 08 will have couplings very soon but being an older model it seems to have strange shaped Nem brackets. 

 

New track will be primed hopefully this weekend and then the back scene will be put back and scenic work begin.

Edited August 28, 2019 by mullie

[wiggoforgold]

Is that the Bachmann class 24? The 60's style looks good. You need a class 31/Brush type 2 though.

Alex

[mullie]

All coupling hooks have been removed from the S&W equipped wagons. A new piece of wire is being soldered onto each coupling in this photo using a simple jig and will be bent to shape over the next few days and then put back on the wagons. Here is the white heat of soldering in progress:

 

 

Here is the fleet of wagons and single carriage to be modified. Once this process is completed all wagons should have been improved.

 

 

Progress with the Kadee equipped fleet continues.

[mullie]

1 minute ago, wiggoforgold said:

Is that the Bachmann class 24? The 60's style looks good. You need a class 31/Brush type 2 though.

Alex

It is Bachmann and yes I do need a Brush type 2, one that works to replace the very dodgy Airfix one I currently own that doesn't and never really did.

 

Martyn

[wiggoforgold]

How about getting a new Hornby mech to put under the Airfix body?