Burkitt Posted May 21, 2011 Author Share Posted May 21, 2011 The last two wagons for the moment have rolled off the assembly line, a pair of balsa dropsides. I must get round to making up a batch of Greenwich couplings at some point so I can actually play trains with them. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
binesrail Posted May 21, 2011 Share Posted May 21, 2011 Nice! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted May 22, 2011 Author Share Posted May 22, 2011 Thanks Binesrail. My current round of painting everything is nearing its conclusion, with building four receiving its mortar wash yesterday. I think it still needs a bit of work on the stone details, but it's pretty much done now. I've also finished painting my second attempt at the bridge, using a lighter shade of green this time around. Now I really must get around to doing the windows... Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mudmagnet Posted May 22, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted May 22, 2011 Looking very good there Paul. I like the weathering on the doors and walkway. Great stuff! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted May 25, 2011 Author Share Posted May 25, 2011 Thanks Mudmagnet. Seeing the bright sunlight today I couldn't resist taking a few more photos of the railway outside. I also finally made a start on cutting out the windows. I drew up the design for each size in MS Publisher, and stuck the print outs to 0.5mm styrene with some Pritt Stick to give an accurate guide for cutting. Only another 23 to go! Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted May 31, 2011 Author Share Posted May 31, 2011 Finally getting somewhere with the window frames. Buildings one and four and the bridge now have all theirs fitted, while two out of three are done on building three. I've left building two 'til last as it has the most windows! Building one and the bridge - building two not done yet One of the done windows on building three Building four all done Other than on the bridge I switched to using 0.3mm styrene as it's easier to cut than the half millimetre stuff. Once I've done all the frames they'll need painting various shades of black and dark green - no suburban white frames here. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
davec.hh Posted May 31, 2011 Share Posted May 31, 2011 Paul, The buildings do look much better for the glazing. gone from derelict to almost liveable. Coming along nicely. DaveC Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted June 1, 2011 Author Share Posted June 1, 2011 Thanks Dave. I've been painting the window frames on building four a tasteful shade of blue: Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 I've now assembled the large doors for building four. They are designed to fit over the rail tops, so away from the track sit a bit too low. I need to cut a hole out of the top corner of one leaf to allow the overhead wire to pass through. The window frames in building two are also now all fitted and awaiting painting, while building one just needs a spray of varnish and glazing. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mudmagnet Posted June 3, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 3, 2011 You are making great progress there Paul. Very impressive. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted June 6, 2011 Author Share Posted June 6, 2011 Thanks Mudmagnet. Over the weekend I finally finished cutting out, fitting and painting the windows. They need a coat of matt varnish before I can fit the actual glazing. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crisis Rail Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Excellent compact layout easier to concentrate on hyperdetail - always considered a narrow gauge quarry - do Peco still market in ready built? - when will you be exhibiting? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted June 9, 2011 Author Share Posted June 9, 2011 Thanks Crisis Rail. Peco make O-16.5 kits for various wagons, coaches and locos, including complete chassis, but no RTR as fair as I know. As for exhibiting, I'd like to have a go but it depends on whether anyone invites me! Hopefully it'll be finished in time for the Members Day next year. As I'm reaching the stage where I'm about to start fixing the buildings down semi-permanently and then adding ballast, I gave the layout a thorough test/play yesterday, to check for any problems with the track before they become a lot harder to fix. Though running the loco on its own was fine, once I tried doing some shunting I became quite disappointed with the quality of the running. There were frequent derailments and the loco often stalled. Two problems seemed to be causing the derailments, which were fairly easy to solve. Firstly, some of the fishplates on the insides of the rails were too high and protruded too far, lifting the flanges up and off the track. Cutting them flush to the railhead with a scalpel sorted them out. The second cause of derailments was that the back-to-back on several of the wagons was too narrow, causing them to take the wrong route through points and derail. That was sorted by pushing the wheels apart until they ran smoothly. Stalling however proved more difficult to prevent. The problem was that I'm running an uncompensated short wheelbase four wheel loco at low speeds, for short distances, frequently stopping and starting, often on points, which are my first attempt at handbuilding, and not perfectly flat. There were simply too many places where not enough wheels were on the rails to make the thing move. My somewhat bodged solution has been to add extra pickups running directly from the rails. I've made them from a few lengths of phosphor bronze strip, soldered together and glued to the bottom of the motor bogie. The lateral strips provide the gentle springing to keep the lengthways "shoe" in contact with the track. A wire connects each assembly to the screw which holds the original pickup in place. It is fairly unobtrusive in operation, and has massively improved the performance of the loco. In a single run through of the Timesaver puzzle it now only stalls once or twice, whereas before it stopped so often I lost count. There has undoubtedly been some reduction in haulage capacity, but that is not really an issue when the maximum train length is three wagons. Though not ideal in my opinion it is more realistic than poor running with frequent intervention from the "hand of God". Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mudmagnet Posted June 9, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 9, 2011 Fleischmann market a 'Magic Train' range with RTR narrow gauge stock, although largely continental they can be anglicised. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
David C Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 Is the chassis under your loco a Tenshodo spud? In which case, simply fill the body with as much weight as possible and you should get very reliable running - that is unless the design of the spud has changed since I modelled in 7mm narrow gauge. I had several SPUD powered locos and they were more reliable than almost anything else I has, provided they had a lot of weight on 'em. They also needed cleaning fairly frequently - the wheel rims, the wheel backs and a pin to clear the much out between the wiper pick ups and the wheels. Very nice modelling - and an unusual "prototype". I'm almost tempted back into 0:16.5 .... David C Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted June 9, 2011 RMweb Premium Share Posted June 9, 2011 Very nice modelling - and an unusual "prototype". I'm almost tempted back into 0:16.5 .... David C Come on in, the waters lovely Dave.T Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
artizen Posted June 9, 2011 Share Posted June 9, 2011 The Magic Train range is now obsolete but you can still get new stock at really good prices here - http://www.de-spoorzoeker.nl/nl/Producten/category/fl.mann-magic-train-Oe/ Good quality and ideal for bashing into 0 gauge rolling stock. Designed for kids so the sides etc can be pulled off. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mudmagnet Posted June 11, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 11, 2011 The Magic Train range is now obsolete but you can still get new stock at really good prices here - http://www.de-spoorz...magic-train-Oe/ Good quality and ideal for bashing into 0 gauge rolling stock. Designed for kids so the sides etc can be pulled off. That's why I've not seen any for a while! Not used any myself so can't comment on how they run etc. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Nevard Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 All quite delightful! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burkitt Posted June 18, 2011 Author Share Posted June 18, 2011 Thanks all. David C, the chassis is a Black Beetle, which is supposed to be better than a spud, though mine seems a bit stuttery and noisy. It's not short on weight as both "bonnets" contain plenty of liquid lead. Cleaning has been an issue though, I bought some proper track cleaner at Chatham and managed to turn a cloth black with grime from the rails and wheels. Hopefully having got rid of the last plastic wheels now will help limit the accumulation of dirt. Replacing the plastic and "pizza cutter" wheels has meant the running is starting to get to a point where I'm happy with the reliability. Taking advantage of that I thought I'd have a go at operating from behind the buildings, and pointing my camera at it too - always a dangerous thing to do if you want smooth running. Everything actually went fairly well, though trying to see what's going on through the windows and over the rooftops is a bit of a challenge. Once I've got the lighting pelmet up I think I'll try to fit some angled mirrors in it to give a view downwards over the layout from the operating position. Paul Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold mudmagnet Posted June 18, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted June 18, 2011 That's very good Paul. Would it be worth trying to give the Blackbeetle a run-in on a circle of track? A good shunting puzzle you have there, which should keep you occupied for hours! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
binesrail Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Great work Paul, liking the industrial sound effects lol Great work! Chris Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortliner Posted June 19, 2011 Share Posted June 19, 2011 Paul - love the "looking through the sliding doors " and "through the windows" to see where the loco is - great idea. The layout works well too Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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