Laoson Valley - 1990's to modern day TMD, Oil Terminal & P-Way Yard

[sdw7300]

Not a huge amount to report - started work on the lights for 97301 (soon to become 97302 or 3). Drilled the holes in the body to accept the LED's and fibre optic light tube so no going back now!  No photos as, frankly, a body shell with a couple of holes in is not that exciting!

 

Looking forward to visiting the Sutton Coldfield Model Railways Show this weekend.

 

Cheers  

[sdw7300]

An hour in the garage and not a huge amount to show for it. Lights for the 97 are getting there....

 

 

Man these SMD LED's are tiny!

 

That's all folks!

[class"66"]

Very nice work Sam,

looking forward to another update now my mate...

[gwrman]

Following your thread with interest, looking good. With your SMD LED's I assume that you solder them, have you seen this

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351277475709?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT 

 

you can use it as a component adhesive to, I've bought one but haven't tried it yet.

 

Nigel  

[sdw7300]

Following your thread with interest, looking good. With your SMD LED's I assume that you solder them, have you seen this

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/351277475709?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT 

 

you can use it as a component adhesive to, I've bought one but haven't tried it yet.

 

Nigel  

 

Hi Nigel

 

Yes - I solder the SMD LED and yes, they are a pain in the ar$e.... The "electrical" paint/adhesive looks an interesting option. Let me know how you get on when you give it a go.

 

Thanks

[sdw7300]

We have light!

 

[sdw7300]

A couple more shoots of the lights

 

And the interior. Much neater than my first attempt.

 

 

Next on the list, add some detailing!

[Jintyman]

Nice one Sam,

A real difference, taking the TTS 37 to a new level

 

Jinty ;-)

[Jintyman]

Hi Sam,

 

Copped this this afternoon........

 

 

 

97303 looks a touch rusty on the top of the bonnets, unless it's where they haven't cleaned after RHTT use!!!!

 

Jinty ;-)

[sdw7300]

Great shots, thanks Jinty!

[Jaggzuk]

Hi Sam

 

Came across your layout while searching for info on Class 37 lighting.  Your posts 204 and 215 are really informative and have helped me move a bit closer to adding light to a) and old Lima 37 and b) the new Hornby Railroad 37.

 

If I may ask a couple of question just to clarify some things; the photos do show most of how you have fitted things.

 

1) Any particular reason for using the SMD LEDs for the domino lights?

 

2) You used a glue gun to attached the fiber optic to the LED head, but did you pre-drill a hole in the LED before hand or does the fiber optic it just touch the domed head?  

 

4) Did you "bulb" the fiber end with heat or just leave it raw cut - both at the LED end and the tail lamp end?

 

5) What dia was your fiber optic? I have an old miniature Christmas tree I hope to source my optic from. 

 

4) In post 215, I note that the wires that go to your lighting loom are connected to the PCB via a white connector, is this bit of wiring a factory fitted item?  Or have you soldered this to the PCB?  Not open up my 37 yet!

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Paul

[sdw7300]

Hi Sam

 

Came across your layout while searching for info on Class 37 lighting.  Your posts 204 and 215 are really informative and have helped me move a bit closer to adding light to a) and old Lima 37 and b) the new Hornby Railroad 37.

 

If I may ask a couple of question just to clarify some things; the photos do show most of how you have fitted things.

 

1) Any particular reason for using the SMD LEDs for the domino lights?

 

2) You used a glue gun to attached the fiber optic to the LED head, but did you pre-drill a hole in the LED before hand or does the fiber optic it just touch the domed head?  

 

4) Did you "bulb" the fiber end with heat or just leave it raw cut - both at the LED end and the tail lamp end?

 

5) What dia was your fiber optic? I have an old miniature Christmas tree I hope to source my optic from. 

 

4) In post 215, I note that the wires that go to your lighting loom are connected to the PCB via a white connector, is this bit of wiring a factory fitted item?  Or have you soldered this to the PCB?  Not open up my 37 yet!

 

Thanks for any help.

 

Paul

Hi Paul.

 

Glad to be of some assistance!

 

The photos in post 204 are of a Lima class 37 into which I added an 8 pin decoder socket. Post 215 is of a different loco, the Hornby class 97 TTS, which already had an 8 pin decoder socket (& TTS decoder chip) installed.

 

In answer to your questions:

 

1) I used the yellow SMD's as their small size means they can sit against the back of the clear plastic "light guides" already in the body shells. Hot glue gun was used to fix these in place.

 

2) I cut a 10mm long piece of styrene tube with a 3mm internal diameter into which the red LED is inserted. I did not drill the LED or bulb the end of the fibre optic cable, just held the two raw ends of the fibre optic cables against the LED and back filled with hot glue (but not too hot as the fibre optic melts - I learnt this the hard way!).

 

3) I "bulbed" the fibre optic cable at the light end but not the LED end.

 

4) 1mm Fibre optic was used (a quid or two for a meter on eBay)

 

5) I soldered the white headed 4 pin micro connector to the 8 pin socket. (The middle four pins in the below photo)

 

 

Hope this helps

[Jaggzuk]

Thanks Sam for the reply. That all makes sense and the extra pics help too.

 

Paul

[class"66"]

Impressive work Sam...

[sdw7300]

97301 is no more. Welcome 97303!

 

So she's been re numbered and loads of other transfers added (including a few wonky ones!). Bogie springs, hubs and springs have all been painted. The buffer beam detailing is from a ViTrains kit. NEM pockets have been removed to allow the snowploughs to be added. Brass wire loops in place of the tension lock couplings and handrails on the nose fitted. Finally she's had a fairly heavy weathering.

 

This is the first loco I've done anything more than fitting a decoder too so I'm really quite pleased.

 

Any thoughts, comments, suggestions are always welcome.

 

Thank for looking!

[sdw7300]

Evening All

Been working on a couple of different projects recently.

Automatic uncoupling

I want to be able to shunt to my heats content without getting off my chair so I've been giving some thought to automatic uncoupling. The "Brian Kirby" method means I can convert my stock a bit at a time and it's cheap too!

 

I started with some 3mm dia, 4mm long magnets but they needed to be level with the top of the sleeps to work (as seen in above photo). I wanted to hide them below the ballast so orders some 3mm dia, 10mm long magnets and these work a treat even with ballast above them (the two spots of unweathered ballast below).

 

A simple staple is glued to the bottom of the tension lock coupling. A Sharpie was used to colour them black.

 

Also working on converting some old Lima bogie tank wagons into LPG tanks - photos to follow as they progress.

Cheers

 

<edit to sort pictures out!>

Edited June 3, 2015 by sdw7300

[class"66"]

Nice work Sam!!

[sdw7300]

Thanks for the likes etc

 

As mentioned previous I have been working on some old Lima bogie tanks. I picked up some dirt cheap from ebay a couple of years back and then when they arrived I realised why they were so cheap. They had been splattered in a thick black tar-like paint, one had missing buffers, a couple were full of rusty nails (presumably to add weight) and one had a big hole drilled in the end. They sat in a box ignored until recently.

 

I want to repaint a loco or two but before that I need to get some practice in on the airbrush first and these Lima tanks seemed ideal. 

 

I forgot to take a picture of them in their original state but this is the tanks (separated from the sole bar & bogies) after 24 hours in Fairy Powerspray (not very effective paint stripper) and a couple of hours in Dot 4 brake fluid (very effective!).

 

 

 

I want to convert them into TDA LGP wagons and have chosen the Conoco fleet as the prototype inspiration (Wagon numbers CONO854000-25). Looking at images from Paul Bartlett's excellent website I have added access doors to either side of the tanks using styrene sheet and square profile.

 

 

The missing bogies were replaced with some from the S-Kits range picked up at DEMU. I also picked up from S-Kits some hand wheels which will be added as brake wheels.  

 

.

 

A blast with the two half empty cans of primer resulted in this.

 

 

And after two coats of white last night...

 

 

 

As mentioned in my last post I want to convert my stock so I can auto uncouple. I'm using Bachmann tension lock couplings is the starting point (before adding the bent staple - see previous post) so off came the massive Lima D tension lock on one of the bogies and the Bachmann NEM pockets was glued on at the right height. 

 

 

 

This seemed to work OK so just the other 9 bogies to convert!

 

I was being dragged around Ikea the other day when I spotted this for £1:

 

It (was) a cappuccino "frother" - cutting off the "frother" head leaving just a short bend at the end of the wire and it makes an excellent paint stirrer!

 

And finally....

I have been saying to myself "I must not buy anymore loco's, I must not buy anymore loco's", but when Jintyman was rationalising his fleet I couldn't resist his red stripe 37 - she's beautifully weathered and runs really smoothly.

 

 

<edit to spell Paul Bartlett's name right!>

Edited March 28, 2023 by sdw7300

[JDW]

Hi Sam, I've somehow not come across your thread before, but its looking like quite a nice project.  The NR 37 looks especially good, and shows what can be done with what is a fairly basic and simple model - especially with it being your first big detailing project.  I look forward to the LPG wagons being finished too, its something a bit different to the usual TTAs and TEAs. 

[Jintyman]

 

Great Progress Sam, liking 506 on the layout, it looks right at home!!!

 

Jinty

[sdw7300]

Thanks for the comments and likes - JDW welcome on board!

 

The TDA wagons have been progressing slowly. They've had another couple of coats of white then I spent a couple of hours (!) masking them up ready to spray the orange stripe.

 

---

 

After 24hrs drying, I stripped the masking tape off and was pleasantly surprised with the results.

 

Here the tanks are just sat on the wagon frames so there are a few gaps.

 

(I've since touched up the white where the orange bled on the corner!)

 

37506 hauls the first LPG train into Laoson Valley on the approach to the terminal

 

A Spotters view from the road bridge

 

I need to add the brake wheels to the frames and hazchem / tops / warning boards etc which I've drawn up in MS Publisher. Hopefully get chance to work on them tonight... if not it will have to wait for the weekend as work has me on my travels for the rest of the week.

 

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by sdw7300

[mudmagnet]

Nice work on the tanks Sam !

[sdw7300]

Thanks Richard!

Added the brake wheels to the wagons and a load of signage to the tanks tonight. I printed the signs on self adhesive labels - They're a bit thicker than waterslide transfers but a waft with some varnish and a light weathering should help blend it all in. You can't make it out in the photos but the wagon number in the TOPS panel is legible so each wagon is individually numbered :-)



Thanks for looking!

 

<edit to remove double posting>
 

Edited March 28, 2023 by sdw7300

[class"66"]

Done awesome job there Sam!!!

[sdw7300]

Work continues on the TDA's. I have been experimenting with different weathering techniques (more on this to follow) but one thing that jumped out was how terrible the Lima "pizza cutters" wheels are - some were metal and some were plastic. Easy, I thought, I'll just replace them. But, of course Lima axles are shorter (24.5mm) than the accepted standard of 26mm. (Interestingly two of the wagons had 25.5mm axles???).  Replacements are available but these come in at £2+ per axle (and given I have 20 axles to replace that would have cost more than the wagons in the first place).

 

Option two was to use the Hornby three hole wagon wheels and opening out the axle boxes to accept the 26mm axles. I bought a DCC Concepts Bearing Reamer however this didn't seem to open out the axle boxes at all.

 

Back to the drawing board (and back on the search facility in RMweb). Option three was slip the wheels off the new Hornby axles and re-use the metal 25.5mm Lima axles and then shorten the 26mm Hornby axles to 24.5mm. This was actually easier than is sounds. I mounted the axles in the chuck of my electric drill, clamped a metal file in the vice and then ground the 1.5mm excess length away - ensuring I kept the drill at the correct angle to maintain the pin-point angle at the end of the axle. Once I had taken most of the length off I finished the angle on a diamond sharpening block.

 

Anyway, a picture (or two) speaks a thousand words:

 

(the Hornby axles are actually just shy of 26mm)

 

 

 

 

The shortened axle. (The original Lima ones were just over 24.5mm) 

 

The reassembled axles were then off to the paint shop. The wheel faces got a coat of sleeper grime and the axles were colour coded - red for the 25.5mm axles and yellow for the standard Lima 24.5mm axles. 

 

 

Edited March 28, 2023 by sdw7300