Ian Morgan

Since assembling and painting the baseboards, I have been collecting and assembling the stuff I need for the next phase: track, point motors and electricals. Plain track is EasiTrak code 40 bullhead rail inserted into plastic sleeper bases, supplied by the 2mm Scale Association SR buffer stops are etched nickel-silver kits supplied by the 2mm Scale Association points are EasiTrak B7 kits, produced by FiNeTraks for the 2mm Scale Association (a joy to assemble) Servo mounts are Dingo Low Profile Mk2, required because the baseboards are quite shallow. Electrics are Merg CBUS modules, salvaged from other projects. So, now I am ready to start laying track 🙂

Bradford

Radio-therapy is now complete. Side effects are frequent and urgent calls of nature, and soreness when passing water and some diarrhea and flatulance. Curiously, I am often getting the wrong signals, an urgent need for a pee, but only a trickle comes out. I actually need to pass a motion instead. I have now been told that I am 'still cooking', so side effects could get worse over the next couple of weeks before they start subsiding. I was given a leaflet about food that could exacerbate the symptoms, and so should be avoided. Basically, it was anything spicey, anything dairy, anything with fibre content, caffeine or carbonated drinks. There was not much on the 'can have' side. Next week I get my next hormone injection, get bloods checked and pick up my next 4-week cycle of enzalutamide tablets. Apparently I can apply for a 'blue badge' to allow parking closer to toilets, if I want to. I don't feel the need just yet though.

So, my whole scout troop in the back of the van with the tents and gear going off to camp in the late 1960's was a no-no then?

I had a thoroughly enjoyable day. Long queue on arrival, but we were through the door at 09:30 as it moved quickly once the doors were opened. OK, the big layout was obviously having major problems all day, maybe today will be better for them. But it was well worth the trip for the quality of the other layouts, many from northern parts that I would not get to see otherwise. I also appreciate the fine modelling skills of the other disciplines on show, and spent lots of time viewing them. I do prefer the diarama's to just planes sitting on a table though. The big RC trucks are also entertaining to watch. The prime mover for the trailer with the class 37 on was also an exhibit, polished and emmaculate for a 2017 number plate. The entrance queue passed the NECs mobility centre with lots of mobility scooters, presumeably for hire, but it was a long walk from the station to get to it.

Here it is a few years later (1980?) in Newport, South Wales, when it was ZDW150353

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Venn

Might be of use? 2008: 2013: 1998:

This new TT120 will never catch on ....

Now half way through my 4 weeks of radio-therapy. Bit tired, but having naps in the taxi. Also, memory is playing up more - forgetting a name or a word and needing ten or fifteen minutes concentration to recall it. Needing to go to the loo more urgently, and more frequently, and when I do pass urine, it feels sore, and sometimes the flow and/or volume is low despite the urgency. Constipation has changed to diarrhea this week, to add to the fun. Once the radio-therapy is complete, the hormone/chemo will continue, along with the 4-weekly blood tests. Apparently, I have to wait for 3 months after the radio-therapy before the next PET scan to find out if it was all successful.

It may not reduce the number of wires, but should reduce the number of long wires, and the number of wires linking baseboards and control panels.

I did create a 3D print height jig for my own use a while back. It can be found on Shapeways, but I don't much like their prices these days: https://www.shapeways.com/product/ZQPXZ7L2F/dg-jig If it is of interest, I could add the STL to the 2mm Scale Association website 3D model exchange list, maybe.

Thunderbirds are .... dyscalculic

As I keep saying, I feel absolutely fine and if I had not had the PSA test and diagnosis, I probably would still not know anything was wrong with me. All the minor niggles I have to put up with (hot flushes, tiredness, etc) are just side effects of the hormone and chemo-therapy.

So that is the first two sessions under my belt (not that you can wear a belt, or much else down there when undergoing the treatment). Apart from the logistical difficulties of achieving an empty bowel and a full bladder in conjunction with a one hour taxi ride, the treatment is simple, just lie still on a plank for 15 minutes while the machinery moves around you, then dash to the loo and get the taxi home again. The first session took a little longer as they tried to get my positioning correct using the CT scanner. This involved tipping the 'bed' 8 degrees to the left which was a bit alarming. Talking of alarms, the monthly fire alarm test happened during this. It was pretty loud, and caught everyone by surprise because of the bank holiday on Monday making everyone forget it was a Tuesday. They were still not happy, and had to repeat the CT scanning until they were certain they were on target. The radio-therapy was quicker than the preparation. No noticeable side effects yet, but as I said, they can be culmulative, so may show up next week or the week after.

What were you thinking? All that static grass in the car park!

Reminds me, I must watch "Passport to Pimlico" again. 🙂

Here are the two main baseboards bolted together ready to fit into the flight case: And here is the complete 1.5m long layout, including fiddle yard, sprayed with grey primer. The underside is white. It is sitting on top of Freshwater in its transport case/lighting gantry, showing it is pretty much the same length as the scenic board of Freshwater, but a lot lighter. Note the quayside extends along the front of the fiddle yard. I am experimenting with having basic scenery on the fiddle yard (ballast, brick walling and some greenery) to make the layout look a bit tidier, but with the fixed scenic break from the main layout. I still need to cut a hole for the trains to enter the layout, but need some track down to get the correct position for a minimum sized hole. With the hole near the front of the layout, I am hoping the sceniced fiddle yard showing through it will make it less distracting. So now I have to start putting together and laying lots of 2mmFS EasiTrak so it may be a little while before the next post and photos.

So, the baseboards are ready for painting, to protect against damp and to prime them for scenic work. As I said, I had to cut down the height of the backscenes to fit the flight case. I used the offcuts to create an end frame so the two main boards can bolt together for transit. Track ends on baseboard edges will have suitable gaps so they don't get damaged. I will get a photo of that later. I also cut strips of the offcuts to form vertical timbers along the entire frontage of the layout that will be the quay side. I cut up a lot of coffee stirrers using a nice little mini table saw I picked up last year. These formed the horizontal timbers of the quay side, and a row along the top form the edging, which will allow any infill for the dock side to be level with the track sleeper tops. It also masks the laser cut 'comb' tabs. Here it is in the raw state. Hopefully it will look better when suitably painted.

Not the most up-to-date gov.uk page, but this implies I can declare by conduct or orally personal belongings up to an Allowance. Not found what that allowance is yet though. https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-how-to-declare-personal-goods-you-bring-into-or-take-out-of-the-uk

One of the reasons to go by train or fly. Although it is not what I, personally, voted for, we are a democracy so it is what it is and we have to get on with the new reality. I do not plan to take tools, and will only have a small amount of kit bashed rolling stock that ran on Freshwater, so confiscation would not bother me too much. I will declare it though, and see what they say. So, on with layout building.

That is true, but how will they value a micro layout to calculate any duty they intend to levy if I don't get one? The carnet is likely to cost more than the layout.

I had decided to retire my Freshwater layout after its appearance at the Warley show at the NEC last year. After 12 years in the making, I wanted a break. Maybe to spend more time on some of the club layouts, and maybe to start a new, fresh challenge for a personal layout. (I am not ruling out a Rolling Stones type 'Comeback' tour at some point, but then I have not decided what to do with Freshwater yet). I had a few ideas for a new layout in my head (don't we all?) but most would be too large and complex to tackle single-handed. Then I had an email inviting Basingstoke Club members to the 40th anniversary exhibition of the Euskirchen Club (Eisenbahnclub Euskirchen e.V.) in December this year. Euskirchen is Basingstoke's twin town in Germany, and we have taken a few layouts to their shows, pre-Brexit and Covid, and they have reciprocated bringing their layouts to our show. Some quick research seems to indicate that taking a club layout by road this year would be a lot more hassle than previous visits, with Customs (Carnets), several Low Emissions Zones to register for, and the german requirement for winter tyres in the winter. So, how about building a small 2mm layout that would fit in an aluminium flight case that I could take by air or Eurostar? I eventually found some laser cut baseboards and a not-too-large flight case they could fit into, and a bit of a track plan that could fit. Part of the North Quay at St Helens on the Isle of Wight. It will not be a faithful reproduction of the real place, but I hope it will have a passing resemblance. It will have 7 points, a run round loop (partly in a fiddle yard) and a kick-back siding. Hmmm, sounds a lot like Freshwater. Anyway, baseboards have been built, modified slightly to fit the flight case, and are ready to be painted. I have some track components to start me off, and an order for the rest is with the Association Shop 1, waiting for the annual stock taking to be completed. It will be a tight schedule, but I feel I am off to a flying start.