“ROUTE OF THE SHORTYS”

[Northroader]

Well, Happy Easter, everyone, just for now I’m marking time due to health reasons, but browsing round today I found a video showing the Great American Mid West in 1949, exactly when and where to be, which I think is well worth sharing with you. Freight Train trip behind a FT set, is that OK?

 

 

 

[F-UnitMad]

1 hour ago, Northroader said:

just for now I’m marking time due to health reasons...

Ah yes, your masterful understatement on the last page of this Thread - "having a break in Gloucester".... a.k.a. having a full-blown medical emergency in the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital....!!! 😱😱🤯🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️

Hope you're on the mend, Sir - RMweb is at least good for rest & recuperation! 😁😉

 

Great video too - quite an insight into how things used to be. Easy to forget just how long ago now a lot of American railroads dieselised, and gotta love F-Units!! 😍🤩👍🤣

Thanks for posting!

[jasond]

Thanks Jordan, skilfully concealed message revealed!  Good vid Northroader - aaah memories! 

 

Starting a very part time job in rail safety about 15 years ago, training day at Carnforth: "Just form a line next to the track...."  I was scared stiff when the WCML Glasgow train went past at well over 100 just out of reach. 

 

But I was happy to be fixed up with a freight train ride on the D&H, invited to take his seat by a nostalgic engineer who'd been madly in love with his landlady's daughter in Brighton when posted to Yerp in the war and when he told me there was a well-hidden farmer's crossing coming up, impressed I knew my longs and shorts on the horns ... still have problems with the hairs on the back of my neck.

 

Anyway, hope my wittering has taken your mind off anything worrying for a second, see you at Winchester in October.

ATB

Jason

[Northroader]

Thanks, Jason, Winchester would be nice, although I’m trying to run down my stock at present.  (???) Having fun trackside and I think of when I was on a course for lookouts and where to place them. We were then under overall control of Network SouthEast, and the training was done at East Croydon, so there I was, a hundred yards north of the station, at the side of the down main which has a nicely curved line coming out from behind a retaining wall, and a steady stream of trains bombing along at you, on the third rail. I passed, but it was hairy.

Edited April 8, 2023 by Northroader

[jasond]

List some bargains on an email group like ukoscale@groups.io  or the Facebook group  American O-Scale in the UK  (OK, OK, I started them both). 

 

Anyway, there's always room for 2nd-hand bargains to be offered at Winchester on Oct 21st next.

winchesterogaugemeet.co.uk

ATB

Jason

[F-UnitMad]

6 hours ago, Northroader said:

although I’m trying to run down my stock at present.  (???)

As your stock is usually half the normal length, will prices be half the going rate..?? 🤣🤣🤣

 

Sorry, coat, hat etc.... 🙄🤦‍♂️

[Northroader]

Well, the plan is that the stuff in the loft needs sorting into what goes and what stays. Rest assured, the shorty sets will stay with me, as they’re the sort of thing for a small bungle-ole. At present, I’m trying to raise sufficient head of steam to tackle this. It’s just four weeks ago when my aorta sprung a leak, and just a week ago when I went back in due to dizzy spells, (wrong tablets plus dehydration) since then I’ve had five bags, one litre each, of saline drip. Put your ear’ole against my chest and you can hear the waves lapping as the tide comes in....

[jasond]

If it's any help everything ... EVERYTHING in life can be organised into 3 piles (well, for me anyway): keep, decide and dispose.  That middle pile is so big I can't see all that's in it.  It'll get sorted ... starting tomorrow.

 

I spliced two 4-wheel cabooses together for an SP-following pal many years ago, still got the underframe bits ... oh, and the other stuff that fits in the biscuit tins ... spare cupola, Atlas/Roco F9 cab and a bit, just needs a pow'd 'truck'.  But back to things that could be foreshortened:

[Donw]

It is nice to see your sense of humour hasn't suffered. It is good medicine to lighten your mood.  Before disposing of things you should make sure you have a clear idea of where you want to go. You mention a bungalow (my choice )  I suggest you rule out a loft unless it has a proper staircase. So you are probably considering a small bedroom, garage or garden shed. When planning our move I worked out what I would do in various situations. It is a pleasant thing to do while recovering 

 

Don

 

ps my decisions were small layout/test track and modelling bench in a small bedroom. 0 gauge layout in garage and a dedicated garden area for the live steamers.

Edited April 10, 2023 by Donw

[Northroader]

Thanks, Don, for the very good advice. I’ve got a very clear idea of where I want to go, there’s a two bedroom bungalow just round the corner from my daughters in Cheltenham. Early days, many a slip, etc., etc., but just need to achieve the transaction painlessly. There’s a “garden room” which should take a workstation in a corner, and a microlayout in another, which will do me nicely.

[Donw]

Sounds good.  You will have a preserved railway nearby. I know Cheltenham well my parents lived in Prestbury for some years . I  have familiy up the road at Kempsey and Worcester.  I find the station uninspiring though.

 

Don

[F-UnitMad]

9 minutes ago, Donw said:

You will have a preserved railway nearby.

And the Dean Forest Railway fairly near, too. 👍

[jasond]

Sorry, the sensible parrot on my right shoulder has been nagging me to find a pic of that 2 x bobbers cut'n'shut into a near-enough SP caboose I was on about the other day:

http://www.trainweb.org/s-trains/davis/wcab.gif

 

Now what to do with 2 x spare ends and a cupola....

 

 

Edited April 15, 2023 by jasond

[Northroader]

Just a small rearrangement, brought on by the forthcoming move, I thought I’d change the title of the thread. The space available for a future layout will be minimal, a micro layout, so reduction in train length will be ideal. The last few years have seen me producing American trains which are shorter bodied than they should be (you haven’t noticed?!?!) which will fit in nicely for future requirements.

[F-UnitMad]

6 hours ago, Northroader said:

The last few years have seen me producing American trains which are shorter bodied than they should be.....

I've seen your EMD F-4&1/2; will be ideal motive power.... 😁👍

 

EMD F-4&1/2...?? That stands for half an F-9, of course.... 🤣🤣😎👌

[JAMO]

I like very much your new thread name "Route of the shortys". That's a great idea 👍 👍 👍

[Northroader]

Thank you, Jacky, it’s funny how this fancy for shortening all the rolling stock items has got hold of me over the last few years, hopefully I can try to keep the whole scene in balance, and it won’t look too horrible. For now I’ve cleared everything of mine out of the house we’re moving from, and it’s stored waiting in the garage of my daughters house, just round the corner from the new place. As a result I can only do “research” on my pad for now. Here’s a view of the main board of the new line, stored away for now, which I cobbled up just a few days before my health failed, strangely enough. It was reclaimed from a board which formed half of an old American line, which needed to be made rectangular, and all the old cork ballast layer stripped off.

It’s 42.75” x 12”, 1080mm x 307mm, compared with the popular IKEA “Lack” shelf at 1100mm x 260mm, and I think the extra width will come in just right. Definitely a place for shorty trains!

Edited July 9, 2023 by Northroader

[Mikkel]

I do like a bare baseboard like that. Full of possibility but not so big as to be daunting. Your fingers must be itching, I hope it won't be too long before you can get a-modelling again.

 

 

[Northroader]

Actually, I did do a little bit yesterday, in among all the turmoil of selling the house - well, there’s a sign outside, and it’s on Zoopla, etc., but minimal interest, probably because of skyrocketing mortgage rates.

Anyway, I succumbed to a cheap little tank car on eBay, and fortunately my toolbox is still here, so out with a craft knife, screwdriver, and some fine files.

It’s a 28’ long tank car, just the correct length, and you’ll see I’m working along removing the moulded on handrails, which will need to be replaced with some brass rod. What happened to the undercart? Well, the screwdriver was pushed between that and the tank, given a tweak, (it just clips in) and it was thrown in the bin. Couplers and wheel-sets, I’m afraid to say, are terrible, as being from Lionel, you see. Sometimes their body mouldings can look quite decent. Not much left to do before I’ll need paint and chassis materials, which are all packed away in Cheltenham.

 

 

Edited July 13, 2023 by Northroader

[Nearholmer]

30 minutes ago, Northroader said:

there’s a sign outside, and it’s on Zoopla, etc., but minimal interest, probably because of skyrocketing mortgage rates

I do hope it goes well. Very testing time.

 

My mother is sort of stuck in between, having decided to downsize to a flat at the seaside near my bro, found one, and got a buyer for her house, packed, then …… buyer dropped out and viewings ceased for exactly the reason you cite.

 

She’s now thinking of unpacking all her art materials, because the urge to create pictures is like the urge to shorten model railroad cars.

[Donw]

Always wise to have something to work on.  I suspect everyone is is the same boat regards selling. 

 

Best wishes Don

[F-UnitMad]

28 minutes ago, Donw said:

I suspect everyone is is the same boat regards selling

Agreed, it's the same round my way. Two houses for sale on our street, usually they're snapped up, but not this time. In-laws are trying to sell in Smethwick - big, double fronted terrace. About 4 viewings in 6 months & the only offer received was so far below the valuation they took it as an insult & told the viewer to leave there & then!!

[F-UnitMad]

To cheer everyone up, I'll post up this delightful Shorty Atlas Plymouth which was posted on the "American O Scale in the UK" Farcebook page recently.

 

Yes, I am VERY tempted!! I have a couple of spare bodies ripe for carving,  just need a chassis to hack up....  'fortunately' I don't have a spare one. Yet... 🙄🤦‍♂️😂

[Nortonville Phil]

2 hours ago, Northroader said:

Actually, I did do a little bit yesterday, in among all the turmoil of selling the house - well, there’s a sign outside, and it’s on Zoopla, etc., but minimal interest, probably because of skyrocketing mortgage rates.

Anyway, I succumbed to a cheap little tank car on eBay, and fortunately my toolbox is still here, so out with a craft knife, screwdriver, and some fine files.

It’s a 28’ long tank car, just the correct length, and you’ll see I’m working along removing the moulded on handrails, which will need to be replaced with some brass rod. What happened to the undercart? Well, the screwdriver was pushed between that and the tank, given a tweak, (it just clips in) and it was thrown in the bin. Couplers and wheel-sets, I’m afraid to say, are terrible, as being from Lionel, you see. Sometimes their body mouldings can look quite decent. Not much left to do before I’ll need paint and chassis materials, which are all packed away in Cheltenham.

 

 

 

Here is a similar short K-Line brand tank car project I started a couple years ago. I need to get it out and make some more progress with the project.

 

[JAMO]

On 09/07/2023 at 21:29, Northroader said:

Thank you, Jacky, it’s funny how this fancy for shortening all the rolling stock items has got hold of me over the last few years, hopefully I can try to keep the whole scene in balance, and it won’t look too horrible. For now I’ve cleared everything of mine out of the house we’re moving from, and it’s stored waiting in the garage of my daughters house, just round the corner from the new place. As a result I can only do “research” on my pad for now. Here’s a view of the main board of the new line, stored away for now, which I cobbled up just a few days before my health failed, strangely enough. It was reclaimed from a board which formed half of an old American line, which needed to be made rectangular, and all the old cork ballast layer stripped off.

It’s 42.75” x 12”, 1080mm x 307mm, compared with the popular IKEA “Lack” shelf at 1100mm x 260mm, and I think the extra width will come in just right. Definitely a place for shorty trains!

 

That's enough to make something very nice and well detailed in O scale. And with shortys, that's more and more better 👍👍👍