BEIJIAO - a large Chinese HO exhibition layout set in the 21st century

[steveNCB7754]

2 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 ...  BTW an individual showcase is on it's way for the Gauge 1 QJ

 

 

 

 

Very envious of the G1 QJ -  just in a plain case, or will you mount it on a simple diorama/scenic track section?

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

2 minutes ago, steveNCB7754 said:

 

 

Very envious of the G1 QJ -  just in a plain case, or will you mount it on a simple diorama/scenic track section?

 

 

 

Just literally going to ballast the track it sits on and may rust the rails. It will sit exactly where it does now just an inch higher due to base of showcase.

[Ian Morgan]

On 09/11/2020 at 09:51, TEAMYAKIMA said:

I chose man cave  museum of my life.

 

 

 

How come your man cave  "museum of my life" looks like that, and mine looks like this:

 

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by Ian Morgan
re-loaded image

[woodenhead]

On 09/11/2020 at 09:51, TEAMYAKIMA said:

With the layout's scenic boards out of my shed and safely stored in my garage I can get on with sorting my shed.

 

Previously my shed was a mash up between a workshop and a man cave, but I absolutely hate the term 'man cave' and prefer the rather pretentious expression, 'museum of my life'. So I had to decide : workshop or man cave?

 

I chose man cave  museum of my life.

 

At one end of the shed I had some recycled kitchen cabinets which housed all sorts of 'bits' ....

 

 

 

So, that had to go and this is what's replaced it - BTW an individual showcase is on it's way for the Gauge 1 QJ

 

 

I know it's been a year since Warley and I have an awful memory, but I could have sworn Beijiau was a lot bigger than this

[luke_stevens]

4 hours ago, Ian Morgan said:

 

How come your man cave  "museum of my life" looks like that, and mine looks like this:

 

 

 

Reminds me of the photos of the opening of Tutankhamen's tomb!

 

Looks good to me, and I'm sure you have many treasures hidden there

 

Luke

[whart57]

On 09/11/2020 at 09:51, TEAMYAKIMA said:

With the layout's scenic boards out of my shed and safely stored in my garage I can get on with sorting my shed.

 

Previously my shed was a mash up between a workshop and a man cave, but I absolutely hate the term 'man cave' and prefer the rather pretentious expression, 'museum of my life'. So I had to decide : workshop or man cave?

 

I chose man cave  museum of my life.

 

At one end of the shed I had some recycled kitchen cabinets which housed all sorts of 'bits' ....

 

 

 

 

So, that had to go and this is what's replaced it - BTW an individual showcase is on it's way for the Gauge 1 QJ

 

 

 

What's the story behind the Triang TT?

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

4 hours ago, whart57 said:

 

What's the story behind the Triang TT?

 

 

Back in 2011 I was heavily involved in helping to organise Twickenham & District MRC's 50th anniversary exhibition and I thought it would be an idea of producing a 'typical' model railway from 1961. 

 

My idea was to recreate a 1961 kitchen table layout and as luck would have it I found a piece of suitable wood to make the kitchen table top and a fellow member cut it to size and trimmed it up with a nice professional edge. Then I wanted more early 1960's memorabilia and so there's a tea cup, a pencil, a protractor, a 1961 Railway Modeller and when I exhibit it I usually pur some cold tea dregs in the bottom of the cup and a half eaten chocolate digestive in the saucer.

 

There is even a toy cigarette in the ashtray and a cigarette lighter and that got me involved in an argument with a visitor at the last exhibition when he accused me of gloryfying  smoking and telling me that it might lead to his young son taking up smoking. I use the expression, 'last exhibition', but in reality it has only been to two - the 2011 Twickenham show and a more recent SW Herts one.

 

I have now added two trains and a few extra 'details' - everything except the tea cup and saucer is glued permanently to the table and I have just in the last two weeks put it on permanent display in 'my museum'. The trains run - power comes from a controller hidden under the layout and the wires come up and through the fake batteries and it appears that the battery controller is powering the trains.

 

 

The only gimmick I've added is that the signal box says 'TWICKENHAM'

 

Edited November 11, 2020 by TEAMYAKIMA

[mjenderby]

Just finished a tidy up (honestly) of my "mancave" before I set about refurbishing the main layout (why do layouts decompose if left for months?). Unfortunately no G1 QJ (lottery win awaited!). Your picture cost me as I spotted some China books I hadn't seen before - they're now on their way 

 

Cheers

 

Mark

 

 

 

[380John]

6 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

 

Back in 2011 I was heavily involved in helping to organise Twickenham & District MRC's 50th anniversary exhibition and I thought it would be an idea of producing a 'typical' model railway from 1961. 

 

My idea was to recreate a 1961 kitchen table layout and as luck would have it I found a piece of suitable wood to make the kitchen table top and a fellow member cut it to size and trimmed it up with a nice professional edge. Then I wanted more early 1960's memorabilia and so there's a tea cup, a pencil, a protractor, a 1961 Railway Modeller and when I exhibit it I usually pur some cold tea dregs in the bottom of the cup and a half eaten chocolate digestive in the saucer.

 

There is even a toy cigarette in the ashtray and a cigarette lighter and that got me involved in an argument with a visitor at the last exhibition when he accused me of gloryfying  smoking and telling me that it might lead to his young son taking up smoking. I use the expression, 'last exhibition', but in reality it has only been to two - the 2011 Twickenham show and a more recent SW Herts one.

 

I have now added two trains and a few extra 'details' - everything except the tea cup and saucer is glued permanently to the table and I have just in the last two weeks put it on permanent display in 'my museum'. The trains run - power comes from a controller hidden under the layout and the wires come up and through the fake batteries and it appears that the battery controller is powering the trains.

 

 

The only gimmick I've added is that the signal box says 'TWICKENHAM'

 

That's brilliant and a really nice idea for an exhibition layout. The history of the hobby is just as fascinating as the future and to see how far it's come is testament to the modellers who built layouts like yours back in 1961.

 

As for the fake cigarette, there's more chance of the poor nipper being influenced by his dad and becoming a prize #*@# rather than a smoker. I'm sure he was more enthralled with the trains. Not that I condone smoking but come on! 

 

I really enjoy seeing updates on this layout, I'd have love to have gone to China in those later years. I was inspired as a kid by a video by Maggie Whitehouse (daughter of Patrick) on china's railways. Unfortunately I was much too young to see it. Now its consigned to books and YouTube but we have to be thankful of a resource like YouTube for such. Your layout definitely goes someway to creating an atmosphere I could only have imagined. I look forward to seeing it in the future. 

 

John 

[Ian Morgan]

When we built a tribute to Brunel layout for the Great Model Railway Challenge, we all wore stovepipe hats and had chocolate cigars. The cigars were not seen in the final program, due to careful editting. They were really expensive, too.

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Am actually, at long last, doing some layout work - still not modelling, but work on the layout nevertheless!

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Let me explain.

 

I have, for some time, been thinking on how to make the biggest impact on the average exhibition attendee

 

Most of our trains are very long by British standards, but actually quite short by Chinese standards.

 

There are 15 main line FY tracks - 5 bi-directional steam powered regional railway and 5 each clockwise and anti-clockwise China Rail lines (diesel powered).

 

So in effect, three circuits of 5 roads = 15 tracks (this excludes the industrial system)

 

Each of these 5 road circuits is now set up with three 15ft 4 inch FY roads and two 20ft plus roads.

 

LONG trains is one of the layout's USP's and so I have been moving things around to maximise the impact of the trains on the scenic section.

 

This has taken a lot of thought. I have tried to put myself in the position of someone who knows very little about Chinese railways in 2004 and someone who possibly thinks that steam operation finished in 1968.

 

So I have moved trains around to maximise the 'WOW!' factor at exhibitions.

 

Part of the discussion going on in my head is, 'Do I show what was typical of what we saw in China in 2004, or do I show what was possible to be seen in China in 2004 if we went looking for it?'

 

This is, of course, highly pretentious stuff - as you would expect from me - but I will try to explain my thinking in more detail tomorrow with practical examples of the changes I've made to the way the trains are presented to the public.

Edited December 5, 2020 by TEAMYAKIMA

[PaulRhB]

I think it’s one of those things with the more obscure prototypes that ‘putting on a show’ is what draws those people in. This is where either the layout or the trains can be the spectacle.
To be honest this is where your accurate but relatively plain backscene and the concrete blocks make the trains the main focus so to an extent they will benefit from the more extreme examples, things like double headed QJ’s with megabass speakers slogging through on a big train  

Go for it!  

[TEAMYAKIMA]

There are several ideas I am working on and it will take time to illustrate them all, but here is one idea.

 

There are five steam hauled trains on the bi-directional including two double headed QJ freights in each direction.

 

Two of those freights were coal trains - one empty and one loaded. The empty one off up the bi-directional line to a coal mine and the loaded one back.

 

I have now lengthened both trains by 5 cars (2.5ft) and so the empty now occupies the extra long anti-clockwise road in the FY reserved for the bi-directional line. I have moved the loaded coal train to the diesel powered China Rail lines for reasons I will explain in am later post.

 

The big change is that I plan to run the two QJ's on the coal empties tender to tender. On the prototype this would be  because there are no turning facilities at the coal mine. 

 

Yes, very unusual on Chinese railways, but I did see it in 1997 .....................

 

 

So, that is an example of my new thinking - show things that could happen, did happen, and so add to the story, add to the layout's uniqueness.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2020 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

For the last few days I have actually been doing modelling - or at least what I like to call modelling!

 

I have been going through all trains in turn which run on the three main lines. There are 15 of them and each has a dedicated big storage box and each of these has three smaller boxes of stock.  45 boxes in total all of which have up to 10 items of rolling stock.

 

In my rush to get the layout 'ready' for exhibition several corners were cut to get the stock up and running and now I am going back and 'sorting' the issues - and OMG it's time consuming!!! I am always finding new specifications that I want to set as the new standard. Let me take train #1 as an example.

 

Train #1 sits on FY track #1 and it is a double QJ hauled empty coal train comprising Bachmann C64 coal gondolas. I always painted the wheels (front and back)  and axles to get rid of the shiny finish and weathered the actual bodies. Lets see how things have changed this week.

 

1. It used to comprise of 24 coal gondolas and a caboose which was the longest train that track #1 could accommodate. I have concluded that LONG trains are one of our major USP's and so I have re-arranged the operating protocols and it now comprises of 29 coal gondolas and a caboose. PROBLEM - I have no idea whether two QJ's will haul 29 coal gondolas and a caboose and won't know until we can set the layout up again.

 

2. The Bachmann coal gondolas come with 24 tiny wire hooks which are very time consuming and tricky to fix to the sides of the car (12 each side). In my hurry to get the train ready I often didn't fit them to the non-viewing side. Equally I sometimes only weathered the cars on the viewing side and the ends. I have now addressed both issues.

 

3. I always painted the insides of the red gondolas matt black, but often left the insides of the black ones as they were - not any more. Also when I painted the insides of the red ones I had used two different shades of black - this I found unrealistic and so ALL cars now have painted insides, using a REVELL paint called ANTHRACITE. 

 

4. I find the brass Kadee springs on the side of the knuckles stood out now and so I have dabbed black paint on them.

 

5, Bachmann coal gondolas have separate parts for the end steps. There are two per car at diagonal corners. They are made from a springy nylon type plastic, but they are only a push fit into the polystyrene body - and when handled they can easily come out! So I have gone through the whole train and where necessary super glued them in place.

 

6. All my freight rolling stock now has its box number painted on its underside. This is in case an item of rolling stock has to be removed from a train at an exhibition and left on the side. Each of the 15 trains have storage boxes which are tailored exactly to the stock that goes in it. So having random items of stock just lying around the FY can cause problems if you don't know which item goes in which box.

 

So, bearing in mind that all of the 29 cars were already weathered and worked on to my previous standard,  I have now raised the bar and spent two whole days just dealing with each car in turn and 'upgrading' to the higher standard.

 

CRAZY!!!!

[ColinK]

Excellent - I’m doing the same with my stock, currently on my last take of coaches which are having lights installed, as you say, it takes ages.

 

I do like your idea of putting the stock box numbers on the bottom of each wagon.

[luke_stevens]

8 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

"In my rush to get the layout 'ready' for exhibition several corners were cut to get the stock up and running and now I am going back and 'sorting' the issues - and OMG it's time consuming!!!"

 

+++++++++

"All my freight rolling stock now has its box number painted on its underside. This is in case an item of rolling stock has to be removed from a train at an exhibition and left on the side. Each of the 15 trains have storage boxes which are tailored exactly to the stock that goes in it. So having random items of stock just lying around the FY can cause problems if you don't know which item goes in which box."

 

 

Hi Paul,

 

To be fair to you it wasn't you who put thing in the wrong boxes but us "pesky operators" who would end up with the wrong trains on the wrong tracks with the wrong loco, frequently going the wrong way on the wrong line. Several times we pushed you close to the edge of a nervous breakdown  Sorry!

 

Brilliant to get the stock box numbers underneath the wagons! It won't stop us mucking it up but will helps sorting the chaos out!

 

Coaches too? Especially which way round the go?

 

Luke

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Ok, back to gondolas - this time with photos! Seriously, I was aware that my previous post droned on a lot and without photos that can be a bit off putting.

 

1. These gondolas are the Chinese equivalent of the British 16 ton Mineral wagon. The Chinese ones are designated C62,C64,C70 etc. The number indicated the capacity ie 62 ton, 64 ton etc. There are also 'K' versions eg C64K - these have high speed bogies and are cleared for speeds up to 120kph. The most widely known version is the Bachmann C64 and C64K, the only visual difference between the two types is a relatively small detail on the bogies, but in fact Bachmann fit the 'K' style bogies to cars designated C64 and C64K.

 

 

2. Various versions have been made by virtually every Chinese manufacturer Bachmann, CMR, Train Garden, Orangutan/Xing Xing and Link Models. I mostly have the Bachmann ones but I have some examples of the other brands. 

 

3. I recently went through the stock boxes to check all stock after our last show and found various problems. These all relate to the Bachmann ones

 

      i)  The cars all have brake wheels on one end of the car. I found some like this ...

 

 

I went through all the stock boxes trying to match the brake wheels with gondolas which were missing brake wheels and by the end I ended up with a spare brake wheel - so, I'll have go through all the boxes again!

 

Another problem was the end steps ....

 

 

They appear to simply be pushed into place and come off very easily - either completely or just one side. I ended up removing the problem ones and re-supergluing them back. Eventually I went through the whole collection and tried tugging them off - better to pull them off now on my workbench that them end up on the floor at our next show!

 

Next problem was the trucks. They are all held in place with a plastic 'plug'. As you can see it is designed to compress in as it's pushed into the hole in the chassis and then spring back once it's in place. When I weathered the original batch 7/8 years ago I pulled the bogies off the wagons so as not to get spray paint/varnish on the wheel trads - big mistake. Whilst the plugs did push back many of them had been compromised and eventually with handling many bogies just fell off. The more times I replaced the plugs, the more damage I did to them and the easier the trucks fell off - DOH!

 

 

My first solution was to fit bolts - I drilled right through the floor of the car and glued the nut to the bolt to prevent the bolt unscrewing and dropping out.

 

 

Which was OK for cars with loads, but was a bit unrealistic for empty cars.

 

 

I have recently noticed that this problem with the plastic plug happens even with brand new cars which I hadn't damaged by removing the bogies - just the factory fixing had damaged the plug enough for the weight of the bogie with wheels to allow the bogie to simply drop off. Equally, I had run out of options for loaded gondolas - I needed a new solution which would not compromise the floor of the car. So now I re-use the plastic plug but fill the hole in the chassis with superglue gel - not the thin superglue, only the gel. It's a bit of guesswork how much to squeeze in - I don't know the size of the void in the chassis and I don't want the gel to oose up and glue the whole bogie up solid. Once there seems to be enough I replace the plug and keep moving it around until the gel has set and I know the bogie will still rotate.

 

 

Anyway, that's about half of the gondola saga - more later!

 

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by TEAMYAKIMA
update

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Ok, back to gondolas.

 

Of all the makes, Bachmann are the only manufacturer that supplies separate 'tarpaulin hooks' to fit along each side - these are the hooks/cleats used to tie tarpaulin sheets over loads and there are 12 hooks per side  - and they're fiddly!

 

 

Now this next bit will just go to prove how anal/obsessive I have become.

 

 

 

 

Edited December 23, 2020 by TEAMYAKIMA

[TEAMYAKIMA]

The Bachmann gondolas come with holes molded into the sides and you just slide the hooks in, but the holes are not deep enough and you can see how the hook sits unrealistically away from the body - although you might question whether any viewer at an exhibition would notice it as the train passes by 4ft from them, especially as you can only really notice is is you look along the car as opposed to side on - I told you this bit became anal!

 

 

So early on I decided to pull out all the ones I'd fitted try to do better. My first idea was to to cut about 1mm off the hook, but that was a real pain!

 

So I then decided to drill the holes completely out so that the hooks now went in further and sat where they should.

 

They now look like this and hopefully you agree it looks a million times better - not a thousand times better, a million times better!

 

 

But if you think that' anal, you've seen nothing yet!

 

As I said previously, the other makes of gondolas don't come with the little hooks. They all have 12 little flat discs along the sides where the hooks go, but no hooks and no holes. I just could not stand the thought of running gondolas with no hooks so I came up with a plan - only fit the hooks to the viewing side of the Bachmann gondolas and use the spares to upgrade the others again with hooks just on the viewing side.

 

There was of course a problem! The Bachmann ones had a shallow hole and so it was very easy to get the drill in to drill it right out, but the others just had very small diameter raised discs as you can see in this photo.

 

 

Now in that photo I have successfully drilled out holes #3,9 & 10 and I haven't attempted hole #12, but you can clearly see how the drill bit has easily slid off the raised disc and in doing so managed to damage the disc thereby making it even more difficult to get a nice clean hole through the middle of the disc. Suffice it to say that it took ages before I finally managed to get the holes drilled perfectly in the exact correct place so that the hooks sat correctly.

 

There's even more anal stuff to come but I'm off to do some work on the layout now - see you later!

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

There will be more about gondolas later - promise!

 

But at the moment I'm obsessed with a Xmas present that's arrived from my friend Irv in Los Angeles - it's really big - I wonder what it could be!

 

I'll find out tomorrow!

 

[woodenhead]

40 minutes ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

There will be more about gondolas later - promise!

 

But at the moment I'm obsessed with a Xmas present that's arrived from my friend Irv in Los Angeles - it's really big - I wonder what it could be!

 

I'll find out tomorrow!

 

It's a plank for you to plonk a home layout onto.

[380John]

Perhaps it's a G-scale gondola! Those hook and hole modifications should be a little easier to see! 

[Al.]

5 hours ago, TEAMYAKIMA said:

There will be more about gondolas later - promise!

 

But at the moment I'm obsessed with a Xmas present that's arrived from my friend Irv in Los Angeles - it's really big - I wonder what it could be!

 

I'll find out tomorrow!

 

 

This is what it'll be. The perfect gift you...

 

https://www.Hornby.com/uk-en/remote-controlled-hogwarts-express.html?utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=display&utm_campaign=web_conversion_custom_audience

 

 

[TEAMYAKIMA]

Opening presents soon!

 

 

Edited December 25, 2020 by TEAMYAKIMA