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The Great Australian Outdoors


robertc
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Hi all, thought I would add a little of what I have been doing to this forum. I mainly post on the guild site but a bit of variety never hurts.

Not enough room in the garage for O gauge so it had to be outdoors or back to the smaller scales.

Most of the trains are scratchbuilt, if they weren't I could not afford it. I have a few RTR items and kits to help speed up the process.

 

Here is the basic structure under way.  I had a friend design this, I just helped dig the holes and held things when told to :>)

post-5543-0-48125000-1428099906.jpg

 

Here it is with baseboard added and the access ramp built.

post-5543-0-79986700-1428100269.jpg

 

The access ramp is banker territory for any load over a couple of hundred scale tons.

 

To fast forward a bit, here it is in recent times.

 

post-5543-0-57851500-1428100986.jpg

 

regards

 Bob

 

Edited by robertc
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Bob, how much of your scenery is permanently outside? It will get 'weathered' pretty quickly if it were.

 

Do you have doors for the openings in the shed? (I'm thinking things like lizards, snakes and possums etc.)

 

It all looks like fun.

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Hi Michael, it all stays outside except the trains. Bird poo and twigs are the greatest hazards. Spiders are just a nuisance and if anything doesn't handle the weather it gets rebuilt stronger. So far I have had to do some fresh coats of paint on buildings, rebuild a couple of the power poles and replace two cardboard buildings that lasted much longer than I expected. The biggest  re-do job was caused by using some Bondcrete for ballasting when I ran out of exterior PVA . Fortunately no possums to deal with but  there is a door that is mainly to keep rain out. Plenty of access for snakes or other vermin but I usually only have blue tongue lizards coming in for a camp occasionally and they don't climb up on the storage yard.

 

regards

 Bob

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In the beginning there needed to be locos.  So cheap ways of making mechs was explored.

 

By removing the centre drivers from HO GM bogies the wheelbase was suitable for a  range of railmotors and a small diesel railtractor. Slaters wagon wheels and some bits and pieces from the scrap bin and I was away. I made use of Hornby, Lima and Athearn mechs, singly or in pairs.

 

Here is a Lima mech.

post-5543-0-96083500-1428376930.jpg

 

 

regards

 Bob

Edited by robertc
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Hi Bob

great to see your posts on your layout here , this RM web format is much easier to post than Yahoo.

 

I'm sure you will get some good interest on here it full of modellers that actually love to model.

 

I started a post for my O scale modelling musings

http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/97814-7mm-modelling-down-under/

 

Will follow this with interest.

 

Chris

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Hi Marty, the grade up my access ramp requires plenty of grunt and all wheels doing their bit! My railmotor has needed all wheel drive to do its job with the various mechs that have been installed in it over time. I look forward to seeing your efforts on your thread.

Having proven to myself that there are inexpensive ways of doing O gauge that work, I now mostly use the regular Mashima 1833 (or similar), gearbox and chain drive.

 

My steam has used regular motor/ gearbox from the start. Don't like any sound out of them unless it is from a sound decoder!   :>)

 

Bob

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Here are three results of the cheap loco building program. Scrap ply and balsa from my aeromodelling bin, tie wire,thumb tacks, paper clips, styrene and a couple of commercial parts.

The CPH railmotor probably is catching up to the prototype in (scale) miles run.

 

post-5543-0-10312500-1428708198.jpg

 

regards

 Bob

 

 

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Perhaps start building and less thinking Marty :>).

I only had to buy the Kadees and Slaters rolling stock wheels. The rest was scrap ply and paper clips (or maybe tie wire) , plus some other bits from the junk box. Even if you could not get an old Hornby or Lima GM mech for free as I did, they shouldn't fetch much on feebay.

 

regards

 Bob

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My plan was to start with Slater's Pug wheels, which are close enough for me, and their plain 7'0" coupling rods.

 

Other parts would be the Cammel Buffers from ModelOKits, styrene sheet and brass wire. I think we can now get good grills in decal form.

 

Maybe it's the project for when I've finished rebuilding my Tower Models Barclay.

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Apart from Slaters wheels you don't need any of that stuff. I build it myself if I can't afford to have others do my model building for me in the form of kits or RTR.

My "good" grill is made from some fine mesh overlaid with strips of styrene. Louvres can be impressed into wood with a pen or carved into styrene with an Opha-P cutter or similar scrawker. My Buffers are made from styrene pieces carved and filed on the X200. They were deliberately shortened as I originally used Kadee 802 couplers.

I am not interested in competing with commercial models, such a practice would mean spending a long time going nowhere. I'm building a model railway not a collection of models.

 

If you want to rivet count and price is a big issue then modelling British prototype is the logical choice. No other market in O gauge can compare in value for money. I often look longingly at the ads in the Guild magazine when I am frustrated at some aspect of building. :>) 

 

There are some very good offerings for modelling NSWGR but they will always be at a premium price due to the small potential market. It is in part the price we pay for the mentally retarded that could not honour their commitments to a uniform gauge ( and still can't). An NR class would be the first locomotive with broad Australian appeal apart from Tasmania.

 

For the benefit of viewers not conversant with NSWGR prototype the X200 is the little red one on the right. It is a rail tractor for use by a 'driver only' within yard limits and around workshops.

 

regards

 Bob Comerford

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Here are a couple of shots of traffic in the Autumn sun.

 

The CPH railmotor is arriving at Seven Mile Mulga. Hopefully the recent resurfacing works on the platform will be appreciated.

 

post-5543-0-52828000-1428877724_thumb.jpg

 

 

The crew of the Fowler enjoy a cuppa while waiting for the stick at 7MM.

 

post-5543-0-79772300-1428877778_thumb.jpg

 

regards

 Bob

 

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Hi Bob the station looks great I just realised looking at the photo that as far as O scale platforms goes not many people model a full lenght often due to space issues using the scene entry to only model part of a station platform or having to compress the the scene to be able to fit in you will have to post a photo with a loco hauled passenger train at the platform. One of the best things about heading out doors the space for nice long trains and In your case even scenic's on the out side section of the railway.

Looking good

Edited by SMR CHRIS
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It wasn't a problem on Stringybark Creek or Arakoola! Mind you, you need to own a barn to have that layout permanently set-up!

 

I'm rather fond of the "bitsa" approach to stations. I don't have it on this computer, but some years ago I did draw up a proposed layout design which could be built with the from scenic section 24-30 feet long, which included 6' of station platform at one end, a refuge siding, goods loop and station facilities loosely based on Bowral, NSW.

 

bowral11.jpg

 

A fairly full representation of bowral can be made by modelling the section from the road overbridge on the platform through to the far end of the goods yard, possibly omitting or truncating the siding on the top-right. This would require only 5 signals in place, but could be simplified to 3 or 4 (need to consult the signalling expert.) The left side of the diagram is the "up" end towards Sydney. I did not devise a full operating sequence but I did write up a number of possible movements:

1.) Through or stopping passenger trains on the up and down lines
2.) Short down local passenger train/railmotor reversing into dock platform on down line to let other trains pass.
3.) Goods train stopping in up refuge siding and then shunting wagons in and out of the goods siding

(selected use of kadee couplings on certain wagons would facilitate this)

One of these days I'll re-draw the plan and fully flesh it out. As I recall, I originally drew this plan up to take either standard no.6 or 8-1/4 points.

Edited by hartleymartin
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Did you mean something like this Chris ?

 

post-5543-0-69813900-1428974996.jpg

 

49 class on the mail.

 

For those not familiar, the front and rear are other peoples work. The louvre van is an O-Aust kit and the 49 class is Asian brass from Auscision ( a present).

The carriages are constructed of cardboard with some rough cut wood parts from Col Shepherd shaped and sanded to fit. 3 rail bogies were modified to 2 rail.

 

The photo reminds me; I must chase up the local guitar heroes for some more broken strings so I can finish off the ventilators. :>)

 

regards

 Bob Comerford

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That's tops Bob makes you realise how much space is required to run good size trains in O scale.

Although I like little branch line formations there's nothing better than watching a nice long train trundelling past on the layout.

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It's all a compromise Chris. I often just enjoy running the railmotor around.

 

Look at our pommie mates, live in a crappy climate yet still build lots of outdoor layouts.

 

A lottery win would see a big shed with it all in, but probably not much more in the way of trackwork, just some more storage sidings.

 

At night and when it is raining I miss my S gauge layout in the garage :>)

 

regards

 Bob

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We've all got our tastes. I like small formations on rural lines. 30 class or 20 class tank locos with two coaches such as an end-platform set, or perhaps an FR or FL with a HCX on a rural line like the Picton-Mittagong loop line or the Unanderra-Moss Vale line. For a while I had a 19 class 0-6-0 tender locomotive and would have liked a rural backwater like Oberon, Dorrigo, Tumut, etc, but in reality I would get more out of one of the tank locomotives.

 

Sadly, my car just died. There goes the 30 class for Christmas!

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