Derwent Spa

[Rowsley17D]

The new double slip is working much better than the old one, so just the ballasting to complete. One of the tests was with a Crab and here she is with a local to Derby.

 

Edited May 8, 2023 by Rowsley17D

[Rowsley17D]

Day 1 after 4hr chemo session yesterday afternoon. Apart from a bit of a headache, no adverse reactions so far. Hardly slept last night but that's due to the steroids. I was fearing an instant dire side effect which would have occurred as the first infusion went in (there's a bit of clue there as to what it would have been!) but was not to be thankfully.

 

Double slip is working well. There was one derailment of one set of bogie wheels on a Hornby corridor coach even though the b-t-b was the same as all others to measurable limits. A 0.5mm increase cured the problem.

 

I also found out a neighbour two doors down is also a railway modeller he only has boards laid and a bit of track, so reciprocative visits are to be arranged.

 

 

[Rowsley17D]

Ballasting has been completed around the new double slip and approaches.

 

 

 

A bit of trackwork painting and touching-up need to be done.

[Rowsley17D]

A while ago, I'd more or less finished building yet another 1P tank. With the weather nicely warming-up, it was time to get the rattle cans out and have a go. First a few wafts of surface finisher I got from the York show, then some coats of Halfords' etch primer followed by coats of their matt black.

 

 

 

 

[Rowsley17D]

The 1P is entering the home straight with a back-head, cab fittings and a crew needed. At some point I must get round to lining at least one of the passenger tanks.

 

 

 

Edit

 

Crew now fitted and will miss out back-head as it cannot be seen once the crew is there. I've also fitted the front coupling hook which I found had been missed out of the last photo.

Edited May 17, 2023 by Rowsley17D
Further info

[Rowsley17D]

Taking advantage of the warm weather, I got some undercoats of Halfords' primer and surface primer on to the Flatiron.

 

 

 

 

The cab roof was still in the box when the other bits were being sprayed.

 

 

[Rowsley17D]

Back in black

 

 

[Graham T]

Now that is a hefty looking loco!

 

[MrWolf]

Definitely an impressive beastie.

[lezz01]

Sadly they wern't very good in real life. Not one of Deeley's best that's for sure.

Regards Lez.

[Rowsley17D]

7 hours ago, lezz01 said:

Sadly they wern't very good in real life. Not one of Deeley's best that's for sure.

Regards Lez.

 

Would have been better as a 2-6-2?

[Barry O]

11 hours ago, lezz01 said:

Sadly they wern't very good in real life. Not one of Deeley's best that's for sure.

Regards Lez.

Depends on which books you read...

 

Baz

[lezz01]

46 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Depends on which books you read...

 

Baz

All the ones I've read seem to disparage them so I'm going with that. The fact that they wern't very long lived seems to concur with that overall sentiment. 

Regards Lez.

[Barry O]

They were a small class.. didn't fit in with the rest of the LMS loco progression so.. went.. as did other 0-6-4t and 4-6-4T types. They lasted over 30 years  which isn't too bad..

 

Baz

Edited May 22, 2023 by Barry O

[Rowsley17D]

I've wanted a period North Western Road Car Co Ltd bus from my layout. They ran between Buxton and Manchester and Buxton and Ashbourne (service 65) so passed through my childhood village. One was often parked at the fan window  end of the LNWR station. A NWRC Bristol L5G appeared on the "Bay" so I snapped it up. Here's mine is at the station.

 

 

Some close ups.

 

 

Edited June 7, 2023 by Rowsley17D

[Rowsley17D]

Back to the Flatiron saga. Trying to get pick-ups on the chassis was a right pain  and I could only manage to do the front and rear wheels. There are holes in the chassis where you would think plunger pick-ups would go but these are not in line with the wheels.

 

With the final drive cog on the middle set of wheels freewheeling I could push the loco on track with no binding of the rods. Put power to the motor and the gearing ran sweetly. Tighten up the grub screw on the final drive cog and binding ensues. After a week of fiddling and general messing about, I thought life is too short for me and bought a very reasonably priced Bachmann Jinty of the Bay of e. After cutting off the outside brake pull rods and applying several slivers of Plastikard to the body to bring it up to the right height, I feel as though I'm getting there. Next a decoder fitting and then then fixing the bogie in place with frame extensions to reduced the daylight around it.

 

Edited June 10, 2023 by Rowsley17D

[lezz01]

Did you file a flat on the driven axle for the worm gear Jonathan. It sounds like the gear is running out of true when you tighten up the grub screw. If you file a flat on the axle and tighten up the grub screw until it touches then back it off 1/4 turn and fix with loctite 601 or equivalent it should stop the binding.

It's a bit locking the stable door after the horse has bolted but that's the way to stop worm gears binding. The other thing you can do is leave out the screw and loctite it in place as loctite is self centring.

Regards Lez.   

Edited June 10, 2023 by lezz01

[Rowsley17D]

Too late Lez, the chassis is stripped. The box is a High Level Road Runner, 2 stage, and with the rods off it would turn the driven wheels with no problems. It was the rods causing the problems. It didn't help that different crank pins of various diameter were used some of which appear to have been riveted in.

[Rowsley17D]

Decoder fitted and it goes like a dream now the mechs have had some silicone grease. Just the bogie to sort and the livery. Needless to say more paint has come off with all the handling.

[Rowsley17D]

Just a quick(?) update on the health front. Yesterday, I had the start of my 4th treatment of 6. This is different from the treatment I had last year as it does not cause the know side-effect of the first treatment of permanent damage to nerve endings in the feet and hands/fingers. It affected just my feet. The thought of nerve damage to my hands was not welcome. The stuff I get at hospital is the different component, the stuff I bring home for 2 days is the same. I thought I had tolerated the first treatment well, save for the feet, but I am tolerating this treatment even better. No light-headedness, more energy and feeling really well after only a couple of days. The main side-effect is staying asleep. I can get off okay, but can be wide awake as little as an hour latter, which is why I am writing this at 0210. I get through by listening to the World Service and Classic FM as well as cups of tea and hot chocolate. Although not too much chocolate as this and too much of the onion family, legumes and brassicas do not make good bed-fellows with chemotherapy! I have a telephone consultation with the chemo consultant next week when I hope she tells me the next scan is booked. All being well and the blood count stays up, I should finish the round mid-July.

 

On the layout front, the heat caused a short. Took ages to find as one of the C&L old-type plastic H-section fishplates had failed allowing a turnout crossing rail end to touch the adjoining rail. Tracing it meant disconnecting a large number of droppers from the buss. I guess I should have divided the layout into power sections of upper board, lower board and fiddle-yard. The fiddle yard was easily disconnected, so the fault was on the scenic boards but which one? Anyway, once it was found and rectified, I took advantage of all the dangling wires and tidied most of it up. It looks much better under-baseboard and less of a rat's nest. 

Edited June 21, 2023 by Rowsley17D
Better phrasing

[Rowsley17D]

I finally got the Beast finished, well there's always something left to do, but it's about there. 

Here she is ready to depart for Derby after being sent to Derwent after an overhaul. The real 2035 lasted until 1935. Needless to say with a WM body she pull anything.

 

 

[Rowsley17D]

In bid to get away for couple of days from hospitals and chemo we went to Pitlochry for 3 nights this week. One of the days we went to Inverness via the Highland line. While waiting for our late-running train, an HST came into the station to wait for a path south.

 

 

 

[TT100 Diesels]

Wow, absolutely cracking modelling in this thread. Had a dip back a few pages or so, to get a flavour (its a massive thread), great to see another Derbyshire layout.

 

Sorry to hear of your health issues, hopefully the modelling proves to be a distraction.

 

Best wishes

TT100 Diesels

[Rowsley17D]

Well I've finally got fed-up with the Minx Microdrive system for changing turnouts in the fiddle yard and they are on offer free in the Classifieds should anybody still use them. This was an idea which was too far ahead of the technology at the time. The least bit change in temperature caused the built-in alarms to sound, as did any slight movement of the turnout itself. It also required a very smooth input.

 

I've plenty servos and channel to hold them. the servos will be above board and I've 4 in place already. I'm going to used MegaPoints stuff to activate them and their relays to change polarity. The existing fiddle yard control panel will still be used as ordinary on-off switches can be used instead of passing contact ones which some systems rely on. Just as a comparison I went to DCC Concepts at the weekend to see  how much their stuff would cost for the fiddle yard, just under £350! MegaPoints is less £150.

[Rowsley17D]

The Minx Microdrives will soon be on their way to a new home. I'm just glad that somebody can make use of them rather than going to the tip.

 

Here's a couple of servos in place as I wait for the delivery from MegaPoints.

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by Rowsley17D