Wigan Wallgate

[katwigan]

Ok, Anybody fancy a laugh?, as already mentioned I have been working on getting the trains running again, it has been over 18 months since anything ran so some fairly intensive cleaning was required in some areas .

Well now in the process of cleaning the track and getting things moving amongst other things I have used RAIL-Zip 2,  having used it very succesfully in the past letting the train spread the little spots of it around the track . Imagine my surprise when the train actually stopped after I had 'spotted ' some on the  track in  one of the lesser accesible areas under the main board. Now you will laugh, I didn't, nor did the wife or the dog, or the Spider hiding in the corner when I discovered that there is a marginal difference between the two bottles shown in the photo below! No prizes given for guessing which one had just been used on the track. 

 

 

The goodness that there are no points in the area!!!!! Whilst it didn't actually glue the train in position it certainly retarded it's progress  / insulated it from the track quite well!

 

Anyway the good news is that having recleaned the offending area and confining the bottle of non - RAIL ZIP 2 product to a secured cabinet during track maintenance I have now had two loco's and associated trains happily circulating. The Bachmann Ivatt 3mt with 5 carriages behind at about a scale 35mph took approx 6 minutes to complete 1 circuit, an actual run of about 220 -  230 feet, my maths may be off a little there, but a decent run leaving from Platform 2 and arriving back into Platform 2.

 

If I can video the run without wobbling too much I will see if I can put it on Youtube.

 

Have managed also to do a bit of tidying up in here so the place doesn't resemble a full scale Steptoe's yard.

 

On the Water Tank I figured that if the steel beams could be wrapped in a rusty printout why not the supply and drain pipes.

 

 

 

There would be no way I could reproduce the look of rusty pipes with a paint brush, just need to find,pain and fit the valve handle and some retaining straps to hold the pipes in place, Hmmmm I have some rusty guitar strings around here somewhere, I let you know how I get on.

 

Kev

 

[PeterBB]

Just shows what happens when someone new puts a comment on your layout (Swad Lane) which then leads to follow-up and then you see such exciting work on a 'new' layout.  Keep up the good work.

 

Cheers, Peter 

[katwigan]

I have been carrying on with the water tank over the last few sessions, having found the rusty guitar strings ( not on the guitar I might add either, although that was next ! )

I had also found "Woodland Scenics Deep Pour Water - MURKY". So having sealed (hopefully ) the joint lines against leakage and given that area a wash of Brownish Grey paint and having decided against a couple of Vodka's to calm the nerves I started to pour the allocated mix!

Nothing happened, no spillage, no leakage all down the front, no burst seems or joint lines just a layer of murky water that showed that the board the tank was sitting on obviously wasn't level, hence all the bits of cardboard in the first pic as I hastily tried to get the water level parallel to the side wall! ( the other way round actually )

 

 

After a tense 24 hours I checked   for the umpteenth time that nothing had run out  and was relieved to find a solidified layer of murky water with no blemishes and a highly reflective but still transparent surface.

 

 

The guitar wire U bolts and the inlet valve handle are also evident in one or the other of those two photos.

The next shot shows it in it's final resting place, although it is not secure there yet as I still need to do a bit more weathering.

 

 

The last photo taken from above shows the reflection of the curtains and the window that are above the layout in this area while the colouration under the water of the rear wall of the tank is still evident.

 

 

All in all I am very pleased with the result, the pour of 90ml was less than 1/4 of the contents leaving a good amount for when I get round to the canal and lock, which if memory serves was decidedly 'murky' the last time I saw it .

So the whole job came in at approx $15.00 with about $10.00 of that being the water.

 

I still have a few issues with track and wiring to sort out although I am able to send several trains off for a few laps around the layout without too much duress, As the lift up access flap is just behind my workdesk seat I get a lovely clickety click as each subsequent train passes over the currently largeish gap at each end of the flap. Unfortunately I had to trim the ends of the track and the flap off during the first summer after I had installed it due to leaving it in the closed position when a bout of hot weather came and I couldn't get it open even with the Air Cond. on. HAHA

 

Right what to do next......mumble mumble....

Kev

[Wigan Wallgate OO Gauge]

Probably one of the most stressful parts of the layout building I'd imagine! Knowing my luck I'd spill the "water" mixture all over the track haha

[leopardml2341]

Kev,

 

How much of a meniscus around the edges does the 'water' mixture produce please?

Edited July 21, 2017 by leopardml2341

[katwigan]

Hi Andy, I have tried to measure as best as I can from the top edge of the tank down until I 'hit' something against the tank wall, the meniscus appears to be around 1mm, however with the dark colouration of the water it is practically impossible to see, certainly when the tank is in pos'n as it will be approx 2' back from the front edge of the layout. 

I have tried taking a couple of close up  shots with my SLR camera and it can be seen moreso in the corner between two sides than along the sides themselves.

 

 

It does appear to be more evident around the two water pipes, again however, they are against the near side wall of the tank so it is not apparent.

 

 

Hope this is of some help, certainly will use it for the canal lock and canal, may just need to disguise it a bit because of the relative location of the two.

 

Cheers 

Kev

[leopardml2341]

Thanks for taking the time to post those details, have been wondering about trying these 'synthetic water' products for some time.

[katwigan]

Hadn't mentioned it before but the water depth is about 6mm, in real life you can see through it to the painted card insert that 'fills' up most of the tank, I would guess it depends upon what you are going to 'fill' Andy,a river bed shouldn't be an issue at all . Vertical sides, tanks,canals etc are where you have to hide / ignore the meniscus.

Hey most of us put up with track gauge that is a mile out, whats a little meniscus between friends ?

 

Kev

[katwigan]

Hi all, in typical fashion I have been working on various projects on Wallgate including,: Trying to cure some derailing problems at a particular diamond crossing, attempting to get another couple of locos chipped and running ( seperate issues! ) and on the building front working on the old WIgan Tech /  now Town Hall.

 

Last one first, Library street that the building is on isn't particularly wide so decent photos of the front facade are practically impossible from a 'straight on' view point and being quite tall ( 4 stories ) virtually any shot ends up quite distorted. However having spent around 32 hours playing around in GIMP with an assortment of pics sorting out perspective and colour issues I was reasonably happy with the result. Particularly as the building will be about as far away from a viewing point  as it can be and that it will be peering over the top of several other rows of buildings I thought I should print something out to place in position to evaluate the finished size of the building. Anyway

A few of the shots that I used to generate the finished product.

 

The Front Entrance ( note the colour and cleanliness)

 

 

The lower section of the Front R/h corner

 

 

Both photos above are courtesy of Mr Google

 

The next pic taken by Dave Green was the best pic of the upper detail on the corner sections, however please note we now have three different colours in play!

 

 

Anyway the end  ( almost ) result being after much cutting , pasting, correcting perspective issues etc etc I ended up with the depiction below.

 

 

My original sizing of this produced something that I couldnt print out onto A4 paper being far too big, fortunately when I finished working the boss donated the A3 sized printer I used daily to my 'retirement fund' ( actually he said he could never figure out how to use the B thing )

The resultant printout indeed was far too large so more trial and error required .

Then of course after all this work along comes this image!

 

 

Now I am not sure what to do, other than printout appropriate sized photos and see which one looks better.

 

Last photo is of the latter of the two versions sitting roughly in position, it is however smaller than I believe it should be, also there are several rooflines missing from between the photographer and the location. Much more to do!

 

On the loco front I have been fitting a chip into an old Mainline Jubilee and trying to decide if I am wasting my time or not.

The track issue may need what I should have done in the first place which was to build my own diamond crossing on a curve ( both lines ) instead of mutulating, bending, realigning, mutulating the existing Peco one.

Ahh the holes we dig ourselves.

 

Cheers

Kevan

 

 

 

 

[Fairburn]

Hi all, in typical fashion I have been working on various projects on Wallgate including,: Trying to cure some derailing problems at a particular diamond crossing, attempting to get another couple of locos chipped and running ( seperate issues! ) and on the building front working on the old WIgan Tech /  now Town Hall.

 

Last one first, Library street that the building is on isn't particularly wide so decent photos of the front facade are practically impossible from a 'straight on' view point and being quite tall ( 4 stories ) virtually any shot ends up quite distorted. However having spent around 32 hours playing around in GIMP with an assortment of pics sorting out perspective and colour issues I was reasonably happy with the result. Particularly as the building will be about as far away from a viewing point  as it can be and that it will be peering over the top of several other rows of buildings I thought I should print something out to place in position to evaluate the finished size of the building. Anyway

A few of the shots that I used to generate the finished product.

 

 

 

The Front Entrance ( note the colour and cleanliness)

 

TH front door.jpg

 

The lower section of the Front R/h corner

 

TH front r wing.jpg

 

Both photos above are courtesy of Mr Google

 

The next pic taken by Dave Green was the best pic of the upper detail on the corner sections, however please note we now have three different colours in play!

 

T H front r wing 2.jpg

 

Anyway the end  ( almost ) result being after much cutting , pasting, correcting perspective issues etc etc I ended up with the depiction below.

 

Town Hall Model 2.jpg

 

My original sizing of this produced something that I couldnt print out onto A4 paper being far too big, fortunately when I finished working the boss donated the A3 sized printer I used daily to my 'retirement fund' ( actually he said he could never figure out how to use the B thing )

The resultant printout indeed was far too large so more trial and error required .

Then of course after all this work along comes this image!

 

wigan tech 2.jpg

 

Now I am not sure what to do, other than printout appropriate sized photos and see which one looks better.

 

Last photo is of the latter of the two versions sitting roughly in position, it is however smaller than I believe it should be, also there are several rooflines missing from between the photographer and the location. Much more to do!

 

On the loco front I have been fitting a chip into an old Mainline Jubilee and trying to decide if I am wasting my time or not.

The track issue may need what I should have done in the first place which was to build my own diamond crossing on a curve ( both lines ) instead of mutulating, bending, realigning, mutulating the existing Peco one.

Ahh the holes we dig ourselves.

 

Cheers

Kevan

I started at Wigan Mining & Technical College in 1985 (then named Wigan College of Technology), on a carpentry & joinery YTS before securing my apprenticeship. One of our lecturers had served his time in the Joiners Shop at Vulcan Foundry.

 

 

Ian

[katwigan]

Hi all,

I am still continuing with the running reliability issues at the moment, including trying to rectify the two pronged issues of carriage derailments and the inability of either the newest  Hornby Black 5  or the old original Bachmann Jubilee  being able to haul anything more than 5 carriages up the hidden 1 in 80 incline at the back of the layout.

The Black 5 appears to have the rear drive axle spring loaded, rather insufficiently or something it would seem. It could well benefit from some additional weight as resting a finger on top during loss of traction certainly improves the forward movement, but there doesn't seem to be much space inside. Any thoughts ?

 

I suspect that the Jubilee just needs to be retired as currently it sounds something like an early 20th century Massey Fergussen(?)  tractor that has a problem.

 

On the carriage front I tested some of the stock by rolling them down the 1:80 and starting with the worst first ( that wouldn't roll down it at all!) I either replaced the original plastic wheel sets or 'cleaned'  the pin points on the one's that already had been replaced ( either by me or A.N. Other )

Anyway the first metal set removed showed up looking like the photos below :

 

 

 

 I cleaned out the bogie axle seats with some iso alcohol and a reshaped tooth pick and having shredded several wet tissues I decided there was a better way and finished up with an offcut of cork underlay that did a sterling job of cleaning without any need of the aforementioned liquid or potentialy scratching the pin point.

 

 

The last photo shows the polished up end of the same wheel set shown in the second photo.

 

 

The end result of the cleaning was this formerly unmoving carriage careened off down the incline the moment I let go of it without needing the obilgatory push that it needed previously.

 

The end result was that the Black 5 manages to get 5 up the incline without loss of traction, 6 if you don't mind a bit of wheel spin for a couple of seconds.

 

Anyway it looks like I shall have to place my order with Santas kids and Grandkids to replace the aging Mainline Jubilee with something more capable.

I am not sure how many carriages would have been behind Mars on the Liverpool to Newcastle train but suffice to say it was significantly more than 5.

Wallgate platform could accommodate 8 plus loco with accurate driving so I would like to see at least 7 including the restaurant car ( prefer 8 tho ).

Any thoughts on potential replacements anyone ?

 

EDIT: The Black thumbnail is a result of an argument with a car door not from missing with a hammer!

Kevan

Edited August 29, 2017 by katwigan

[SouthernBlue80s]

I love that water tank. Great modeling

Steve

[katwigan]

Hi, a bit of miscellaneous rambling for an update.

First up thanks Steve, the water tank is one of the few structures that I almost completed in one set of modelling sessions ( very rare for me ).

 

Anyway, amongst other things I have been working on there is a rtr modification / build up of a Stanier 2-6-0 (purists etc please turn a blind eye for a while) that I had started some years ago ( certainly well before the Bachmann offering). That involved grafting a HD 8f body onto a 2-6-4 Hornby chassis, it certainly seems to have plenty of pulling power and the drive is nice and quiet, dimensionally it is quite close, certainly as acceptable in my eyes to any other ' Modellers Licence' atrocities that we tolerate ( eg 16.5mm)

 

 

Having mentioned 16.5mm leads me a problem I raised elsewhere on RM, that is the relationship between b-t-b dimensions on older stock versus the latest offerings and then related to rail and particularly clearances through pointwork frogs etc.

Some of the older stock that still abounds seems to have a b-t-b of around 14mm compared to recommended 14.5mm however the base of flange to base of flange is around 16mm on the older while it is only around 15.2 or so on the newer stuff. The question is running on code 100 is fine for older stock but seems to be a bit variable when trying to run the new stuff.

Q is 14.5 still a viable standard for code 100 running or are the clearances on code 83 etc significantly tighter ?? Just a thought

 

Having not yet plucked up the courage /  wherewithall / or whatever to try making my own points I did have a go ( still in progress) of 'bending' a Peco long Diamond crossing for a better fit and while I was at it I am currently replacing / tightening up / converting it to live frogs. The photo shows it back in place on the layout for 'testing' purposes ( ie Am I wasting my time here?) Anyway thing are travelling through it rather more smoothly and with less jerky on/off's than the other one on the layout , so I guess I will go ahead and convert the frogs now.

 

 

Adelaide has just had it's first warm days this season (>32 deg) and the lifting section that opened and closed ok on Saturday wouldn't shut on Monday, having removed another 1.5mm  ( total of 4mm since original construction) I am not sure if the wood is expanding or has started growing again!

Anyway having now put the air con on in the room it will probably shrink back and the trains will have to jump over the great divide! ( Maybe I need two 'bridges' one for winter and a shorter one for summer ?!?!?

 

The second event of the 'heatwave' resulted in trains derailing on a 4' rad curve where previously none had done so, investigation showed that a combination of cheaper than Peco track , Heat and me obviously eliminating the end to end clearance on this section ( because it is attached to the previously mentioned diamond) resulted in the outer, smaller than Peco chairs breaking off on the outside of the outer rail for about 60mm or so, Instant increase in gauge by a couple of mm and subsequent derailment of anything passing!

 

 

Problem identified , track torn up and replaced by section of Peco with expansion allowance ensured. B....y weather!

B....y lack of attention to critical criteria actually.

 

Anyway another question,

Has anybody looked into  / used DCC Concepts Power Base, I have just had a look at the concept (ahem) on their website and it certainly looks like it will solve another of my issues which is to get a Jubilee with 8 carriages up a 1:80 gradient withoput it  slipping to a halt and doing it for a very reasonable price I must say. Must go and raid the money box I think, will let you know how I get on.

 

Cheers for now

Kev

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APOLLO]

Kev

 

Regards locos slipping add as much weight as you can above the loco's driving wheels. Another "trick" I use is to roughen up the running rails surface on the gradient. I use an emery block or rough nail file cards. Don' go along the rails, wipe across them, not too hard though. It works for me, been doing it for years on a couple of sections of track and the rails are no worse for it. I need to re apply this treatment every couple of months or so when the roughened surface polishes and locos start to slip again.

 

Some nice buildings there. I'm just about to go down to the pub at the top of Library St to meet some old work mates !!

 

Brit15

Edited October 17, 2017 by APOLLO

[katwigan]

Hi APOLLO, yes I have been trying to add weight where i can in several locos, one or two have been reasonably successful but the two year old Hornby Black 5 is struggling with 4 coaches sometimes and has very limited space for extra weight.

My old Mainline Jubilee can manage 6 at a push but sounds like an archaic piece of farm machinery in the process, I guess it is suffering from the split axle failure that plagues that breed.

I have found several videos of before and after using the DCC CONCEPTS Powerbase system and for $35 to do about 5m of track and several locos looks like it would do the job nicely.

How does your cross hatched track go with dirt build up?

Too late now but have a drink for me, I had my first beer the other day since the radiotherapy finished 12months ago. It still tastes B....Y Awful. Damn

Kev

[manna]

G'Day Gents

 

You could try Whiskey.

 

I like the Stainier 2-6-0, I have both a chassis and a body spare, but I don't know if they ever got down the North London. LOL.

 

manna 

Edited October 17, 2017 by manna

[katwigan]

G'day Manna, according to this topic discussion on here : 

Bachmann Stanier mogul

Started by Sam*45110*SVR, May 23 2013 06:10

 

It sounds as though the Moguls did quite a bit of work in the London area, so no problems there then.

 

Unfortunately never been much of a Whiskey drinker , have been known  to get into the Vodka however.

But you know what it's like when you build up a thirst on a hot day, it's a pain in the A when it then tastes B awful!!   

Cheers ( Humph! )

Kev 

[APOLLO]

No problem with dirt build up Kev, at least none I notice.

 

The DCC powerbase system seems interesting, never heard of this till now.

 

http://www.gaugemaster.com/articles/product-spotlight/dcc-concepts-powerbase.html

 

Brit15

[manna]

G'Day Gents

 

I tried to fit a Hornby (plastic body, tender drive) to the 2-6-4t chassis, with a little cutting it will fit. Great idea.

 

Also asked a couple of questions on the Bachmann thread about the 2-6-0's, sheds in London and numbers, very helpful, she's a goer. lol.

 

manna

[katwigan]

Hey Apollo,

Only just had a look at your Nth American O gauge layout, can't say that American stuff has ever been in my sights but that is impressive I must say. Actually what is IMPRESSIVE is dragging a concrete garage around the country to put it in, now that is dedication!

I have often throughout my life been reminded by my parents about the stack of 78rpm records that as a 4 yo I dropped while ' helping'. The lot of them shattered ( as they did) except the top one, Frankie Laine's version of the Rock Island Line which only broke in two. My dad glued it back together and is was then forever known as the Rock Island Click, obviously due to some small missing chip or misalignment. 

Kev

[katwigan]

Manna,

 The plastic bodyshell is going to be easier to cut and fit than the metal H Dublo body, thank goodness for the Dremel, ( Best thing I ever bought for my wife   )

Kev

[manna]

G'Day Gents

 

A whole 30 minutes is all it took to make this, it'll take a bit longer to finish it.

 

manna

[katwigan]

Onya Manna,

A man after my own heart there mate! Must come for a drive up north one day.

Kev.

[manna]

G'Day Gents

 

your welcome, any time.

 

manna

[APOLLO]

Hey Apollo,

Only just had a look at your Nth American O gauge layout, can't say that American stuff has ever been in my sights but that is impressive I must say. Actually what is IMPRESSIVE is dragging a concrete garage around the country to put it in, now that is dedication!

I have often throughout my life been reminded by my parents about the stack of 78rpm records that as a 4 yo I dropped while ' helping'. The lot of them shattered ( as they did) except the top one, Frankie Laine's version of the Rock Island Line which only broke in two. My dad glued it back together and is was then forever known as the Rock Island Click, obviously due to some small missing chip or misalignment. 

Kev

 

Thanks for the comments Kev.

 

The concrete sectional garage was only moved once and that move was only 4 miles or so - I hired a wagon and driver off our work conractor, and with a few mates it was dismantled and moved in just a few hours. Re erection took a bit longer !! (but never again !!!).

 

Yes the Rock Island line was a mighty fine line (click free version by Lonnie Donegan - can't find Frankie Lanes version - you probably broke the only one !!)

 

 

Brit15