Stockrington - Mojo ignited. Thanks, Heljan!

[jcredfer]

That's as I remember from the early 70's.

Paul.

 

As were many rivers in the UK about that time.

 

Happy Christmas all

 

J

[60012 Commonwealth of Australia]

Merry Christmas Scott!

 

Hope you had a great Christmas, and have a happy new year!

 

All the best,

 

Peter

[jukebox]

Well that's Christmas almost done here down under.

 

Plenty of sun, waaaaaay too much food, and even a few short sessions upstairs to break up the day.

 

For Christmas, I treated myself to a hobby compressor:

 

 

I have a full sized one in my shed, that I used to spray paint rolling stock: it's got a big motor, big tank, and is a noisy, heavy beast.  Shortly after I started building Stockrington, I realised I would want to airbrush some parts of the scenery, and so have mulled the problem for a couple of years, knowing that lugging the beast up and down from the shed was not really a pleasant option.

 

I saw some smaller hobby compressors going cheap on eBay.  Of course the bargain one I identified had gone "out of stock" by mid December, so I had to spend a little more (almost as much as The Beast cost me, but I got that one cheap at Bunnings about a decade ago), but it arrived safely on the 23rd, and looks pretty well made.  It does have a tank, just not a massive one - but as this is purely for scenery, the need for finesse is a lot less.

 

The urgency for this purchase is that now I am into track laying, I want to paint the rail sides early in the piece, before I ballast.  Now I can  :-)

 

I hope you've all had or are having a great day, and that Santa has brought you something useful too!

 

Merry Christmas

 

Scott

Edited December 25, 2016 by jukebox

[DougN]

Scott enjoy Boxing Day as I bet the paint will get quite a work out! Like you 10years ago I found an air brush and compressor on an AMRA stand here in Melbourne and purchased them. The compressor is similar to yours but without the tank. To say the least it transformed my painting, though I have become rather time poor due to life and family. It was the best investment I ever made. I can see your layout taking offf from this point. Enjoy the build

 

All the best form a warm eastern state!

[jukebox]

Just as I was putting the finishing touches to the extra storage tracks, it struck me that I really should install an under track Kadee magnet at the ladder throat.  Would have been handy to have had that thought a week ago, before I layed the track, but all was not lost:

 

 

 

I drilled the corners of the magnet recess with a 1/2" drill bit, and connected these up using a jig saw.  I then glued a scrap of wood across the hole from underneath and left it to dry.

 

 

Coming back, I drilled holes for the droppers for the short straight I would install between the turnouts, and cut up some shims that would bring the magnet to bottom-of-sleeper level

 

 

With the magnet in place, I re-worked the short section of track that would sit over the top - I needed to be sure the droppers would not energise the magnet, so soldered them quite flat, and masked the exposed undersides with liquid electrical tape.

 

 

The track sits on top, and the rail joiners hold everything tickety-boo.

 

 

Top tip: Don't forget to use an insulated joiner on the rails coming off the frog.

 

:-)

[jukebox]

Lest you think it's all pfaff and fiddling, here's some overall shots of the tracklaying progress.

 

The carpet glue I'm using doesn't have a long tack time - esp. on hot days, so no chance for action photos as I lay it, I'm afraid.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's been many years since I've layed track, so I approached the task with some trepidation.  The first few lengths behind the MPD were parallel straights - probably not a smart place to start, as they show up every kink and kick, and where I've not got them perfectly parallel.  The change to a single circuit also results in there being a dogleg in that run, as the approach to the bridge is now slightly different, so it's not as tidy as I'd like, but the saving grace is that it's not readily visible.

 

I'm happy with how the superelevation looks, but I do need to power it up and see how trains handle it.

 

The plan from here is to get the double circuit laid - on emissing double slip in transit from Liverpool being the critical path on that' I'd say.  If I get to the point where I can't continue, I'll stop and start soldering the droppers to the DCC Bus.

 

Then I'll probably christen the track using the P2 - if the Mikado can handle my agricultural track laying, then the lesser locos should cope.

 

I don't expect I'll have got it all right the first attempt, and do expect to need to fettle the line and level in places.  

 

The rate I'm going - I do two or three sessions laying 2-3 lengths each time - I expect to have the bulk of the track down before the end of the week - and hopefully a lot of it wired up and ready to roll for early in the New Year.

 

Cheers

 

Scott

[Toftwood]

My tongue was very firmly in my cheek - and I worked at Newcastle General!

 

Yeah I gathered that, I lived in Tynemouth until early 75, schooling at St Cuthberts Grammar up Benton way.  All three rivers were sewers and the quayside, unlike todays 'fun' place to be, was bl**dy dangerous! :-)

 

Pete

[danstercivicman]

Wow that's some gifted art work! The backscene looks great!

 

I found I had loads of de railments and I sold locos and coaches because of it... then I got a OO back to back guage and now I have zero de railments!

Edited December 27, 2016 by danstercivicman

[New Haven Neil]

Toftwood, I'm a Sanddancer, 1959 model.  Left in 2002. 

 

Some Wear bridge inspiration....

 

[manna]

G'day Gents

 

Is that a 'Toll booth' on the rail line......

 

manna

[New Haven Neil]

G'day Gents

 

Is that a 'Toll booth' on the rail line......

 

manna

 

No, a washer for units coming out of Sunderland......

[runs as required]

It looks like its going to be a great New Year for you Scot!

 

I've been away from site for a few months and developments on this thread are a real treat to return to.. 

I've delighted in your carrying on from painting the stone bridge abutments to painting the Wearside backdrop (posting as a Fine Art graduate from Sunderland a couple of years ago) rather than using photographs. The treatment of that sky and the upstream view of the Wear really works for me; in the manner of Manet's paintings of Sainte-Lazaire

 

I'd urge a bit of a blurring down of the hard-edged landscape skyline in the same Impressionistic way to continue mediating as you intend between the layout and room edges.

 

With best wishes.

dh

[jukebox]

The mainline track is *almost* completely laid, now.  I have a couple of short sections either side of the Wear Bridge, and also at the approaches to the lift span near the door, as well as the tracks over the lift span too.  Hopefully will be done this weekend.

 

The track is all dead, but I thought a couple of the track centres looked a bit too close, so was pushing a couple of suburbans around side by side when... click.  I'd set one of the curves a little too close, and the coach sides were just clipping one another.

 

It was barely perceptible, and on the avoiding line around the station, but as it was just one location, I bit the bullet, and ripped up the offending length:

 

 

 

The perverse thing was, it's not a critical area of the layout - I could have tightened the inner track when I first laid it, but was trying to keep the radii as generous as I could.

 

Of course that set my mind itching, as I know the approach curves to the Wear Bridge are the tightest I have on the mainline.

 

I dug up some full length Gresley coaches I have in store, and gave them the "staggered throw" test:

 

 

 

 

My model passengers had better keep their heads in!  That door handle is mighty close, but they don't touch (believe me, I tried to make them - if it's wrong, I want to know now, so I can sort it out).

 

If passing trains were throttling around that corner towards one another, they well might clip, but from what I experiment with, they should be fine under normal running.

 

Curiously, I also tried a Pullman, but it must have a short end throw and bogie centres, as it had more clearance than a Gresley vehicle.  I will take a couple of Mk1 Pullmans up tomorrow, just to be sure.

 

Scott

 

(apologies for the appalling quality of the photos - only took the phone camera upstairs tonight)

[jukebox]

It looks like its going to be a great New Year for you Scot!

 

I've been away from site for a few months and developments on this thread are a real treat to return to.. 

I've delighted in your carrying on from painting the stone bridge abutments to painting the Wearside backdrop (posting as a Fine Art graduate from Sunderland a couple of years ago) rather than using photographs. The treatment of that sky and the upstream view of the Wear really works for me; in the manner of Manet's paintings of Sainte-Lazaire

 

I'd urge a bit of a blurring down of the hard-edged landscape skyline in the same Impressionistic way to continue mediating as you intend between the layout and room edges.

 

With best wishes.

dh

 

 

Hi David

 

Thanks very much for your kind compliments.  You should know I had much of the advice and guidance you've previously shared with me in mind, as I was painting that river scene - and I have no doubt that the choice to use an impressionistic was driven by my own enjoyment of that style (and probably more than a bit from my grandfather, whose works hang in a number of galleries in New Zealand (he never painted any trains, but was a pioneer in impressionistic painting in NZ in the 1950's).

 

I don't consider the backscene complete yet - there could well be scope to take a more impressionistic detour there, too.  I've actually ordered a book that is getting some good reviews - Creating a Backscene: A Railway Modelling Companion - that may well have some inspirations for me.

 

So the placeholder backscene is there for now - it lets me get on with terraforming.  If I decide to make changes, at least I can do that on a smaller scale, and not need to rework 35ft worth at once  :-)

 

Cheers

 

Scott

[Wigan Wallgate OO Gauge]

Hi David

 

Thanks very much for your kind compliments.  You should know I had much of the advice and guidance you've previously shared with me in mind, as I was painting that river scene - and I have no doubt that the choice to use an impressionistic was driven by my own enjoyment of that style (and probably more than a bit from my grandfather, whose works hang in a number of galleries in New Zealand (he never painted any trains, but was a pioneer in impressionistic painting in NZ in the 1950's).

 

I don't consider the backscene complete yet - there could well be scope to take a more impressionistic detour there, too.  I've actually ordered a book that is getting some good reviews - Creating a Backscene: A Railway Modelling Companion - that may well have some inspirations for me.

 

So the placeholder backscene is there for now - it lets me get on with terraforming.  If I decide to make changes, at least I can do that on a smaller scale, and not need to rework 35ft worth at once  :-)

 

Cheers

 

Scott

Hey there from New Zealand! I may have encountered your grandfathers work at some point

[jukebox]

Hey there from New Zealand! I may have encountered your grandfathers work at some point

 

Hi Wigan - you may well have, indeed.  

 

He's known for his photos of Opo the dolphin in Hokianga harbour in the 1950's, and his landscapes of Northland between 1950 and 1970.  

 

I've not visited to see for myself, but I understand his work is in a number of larger galleries in NZ.

[jukebox]

I see it's been almost a month since I last posted.  It's been mid-summer here. and we've had some scorching heat - well above 40c for a number of days in late January - and that made after work evenings upstairs something I wasn't overly keen on.

 

But to be honest, I've been distracted by my other passion: music.  There's a Bruce Springsteen tour been happening here in Oz, and I've been roll calling the three Perth shows, then last week took off across the country to catch the two nights in Brisbane.

 

Well worth the effort, in terms of enjoyment and satisfaction.  Even managed to take a couple of okay photos.  Now that particular circus has left town, I'll get back to my trains

 

 

Tramps like us...

 

Scott

Edited February 19, 2017 by jukebox

[jukebox]

Mid March update:

• Mainline tracklaying completed.
• Station tracks completed.
• All mainline point motors fitted
• Coal drop and MPD remain - not due to be done until scenery is underway.
• Wiring up droppers to bus#2 started (60% complete)

 

Tasks ahead

• Complete soldering droppers to bus#2 (mainline and station tracks)
• Solder rails to fixing points at lift section and bridge.
• Test trains

Cheers

 

Scott

Edited March 16, 2017 by jukebox

[jukebox]

As I make my way under the layout, soldering droppers onto the DCC bus, I'm aware that I need to take precautions against a mis-wire or short circuit.  With hundreds of droppers, I can't afford to solder everything up, only to find something wrong *somewhere* at the end - the fault finding would be a nightmare!

 

The solution is uncannily simple:  I used the continuity test function on my multimeter, and connection one lead to the red wire of the main bus, and one to the black.  If I have a mis-wire, or something is wired wrong, the moment the dropper makes contact with the bus wire... bzzzzzzzzz!

 

 

 

I'd gotten 2/3 of the way around the room before trouble struck.  Red dropper to red bus wire gave me a audible tone.  I left the wire connected, hauled myself up, and started exploring the track I'd just connected.  Nothing obvious.  I disconnected the wire, and used the multimeter to check locally, slipping rail joiners off to create sections.

 

 

It didn't take long to identify the source of the problem - a turnout.  I did some 1:76 perway work and was able to take it out of track (not too easily, I have to say) and as soon as I turned it over, I could see I'd not removed the factory bonds to the frog. Rookie error!

 

 

The fix took 30 seconds.  Putting it back in track took a good sight longer.

 

 

Curiously, as I got to the last 2m of mainline, the western double junction approach to Stockrington station site, I got another alarm.  I turned out I had left the frog bonds on a second turnout.

 

 

But with both of them now corrected, soon I can energise the track, knowing the circuits are clean.

 

Cheers

 

Scott

[jukebox]

Well it's been one heck of a journey, but the most important milestone of all has been reached:  Stockington ran its first trains tonight.

 

http://youtu.be/J24Lnas1oqo

 

(try as I may, I couldn't find a simple app to convert the video file from my camera (a Canon mov. file)  into a decent quality YouTube clip. 5 mins of filming, and literally 4 hours of trying to convert and upload. 10pm was white flag time..)

 

I did a few laps with Kestral propelling the CMX on the up and down mains, then brought out Cock O' The North to christen the tracks.  In doing so found one turnout I'd not wired the frog up to - which says a lot about the Heljan's pick up ability.

 

Very pleased there's no major issues with my track laying - there are some tweaks to be done - but now also have a few weeks of trials with various stock to make sure it's all tickety-boo, before I start ballasting and scenery.

 

A satisfying weekend down here.

 

Cheers

 

Scott

Edited March 27, 2017 by jukebox

[jcredfer]

Good culmination of lots of thoughtful planning and hard work - delightful.

 

I really liked the shot of C o' t' North through the oval parts of the bridge.  That will, no doubt, lead to many others, likewise.

 

Confess, I was slightly curious as to quite why 2 coaches appeared to be pushing a Lemon Meringue Pie around the other way [slightly underdone topping too, if I might be permitted a Master Chef moment.  Good effort none the less.]   

 

Seriously, congratulations on the birth of many more hours of enjoyable construction. 

 

Great and thank you for the view.

 

Julian

[The Blue Streak]

Looks Good Scott.

You've got to be pleased that trains are running around that well straight off the bat. 

It's been a fair old slog to get to where you are, Well done mate. I still haven't got base boards down. 

Edited March 27, 2017 by The Blue Streak

[great northern]

Congratulations Scott. Much adversity over come to get to here, but as you say, a real milestone. And now we can see the enormous potential of the layout in full, I'm really looking forward to watching it develop further.

[jukebox]

Good culmination of lots of thoughtful planning and hard work - delightful.

 

I really liked the shot of C o' t' North through the oval parts of the bridge.  That will, no doubt, lead to many others, likewise.

 

Confess, I was slightly curious as to quite why 2 coaches appeared to be pushing a Lemon Meringue Pie around the other way [slightly underdone topping too, if I might be permitted a Master Chef moment.  Good effort none the less.]   

 

Seriously, congratulations on the birth of many more hours of enjoyable construction. 

 

Great and thank you for the view.

 

Julian

 

Thanks Julian - when I eventually model the span, it will be a lot more delicate, and I expect those views shall be more tantalising.  The rails are slit, and the power connected via a micro-plug, to allow for repeated engineering possessions!

 

 

Looks Good Scott.

You've got to be pleased that trains are running around that well straight off the bat. 

It's been a fair old slog to get to where you are, Well done mate. I still haven't got base boards down. 

 

Thanks Ted - yes, I was surprised, myself.  There's some areas where there is oxidation that I though would hamper pick up.  I'm going to treat those with Phosphoric Acid (the active ingredient in rust remover - I have a couple of test sections I've treated (one with 85% one with 10% solution, wiped clean with cellulose thinners) to check it has no ill effects.  I need to run my older Bachmann A4's as they are robustly flanged, and propelling a string of 4 wheel wagons around seems as good a test as any, too....

 

Congratulations Scott. Much adversity over come to get to here, but as you say, a real milestone. And now we can see the enormous potential of the layout in full, I'm really looking forward to watching it develop further.

 

Thanks Gilbert!  Even at this point, my artistic eye is looking at some of those angles in the video and seeing the potential for photos - once I get a technique for forming hills sorted, I'm confident the open areas will be quickly filled, which will really start to bring the layout to life. 

 

Cheers,

 

Scott

[danstercivicman]

Wow! That is impressive! Great work!