KH1

Yes I know, wasn't I good in not starting it as soon as I got it. One thing that is certain though is that it won't be shiny after I have finished with it! And, thanks Mike, I have seen this and there is another one on 'another site' here. Both are very good so shall not go over what they have said again but feel certain that I will come up with my own unique problems to add to the story. In fact am only writing this now to divert myself from launching the whole thing out of the window! More later.

Much as I hate truncated text speak Baldwin Gas Mechanical is a bit of a mouthful so BGM it shall be. This is from the Neil Sayer kit which is although not particularly cheap is complete except for couplings so there are no nasty add ons such as wheel, motor and gearbox which slyly manage to make most kits at least as expensive as this one - a lot a no where nearly as well designed as this one as well! The have been a couple of very good blow by blow accounts of the build of this kit already so I won't go into too much detail but think there are quite a few interesting features that are worth talking about. This loco is a slight departure for me as it is , of course American, but kit was tested, exchanged, borrowed, captured and just plain stolen sometimes so is not outside the realms of possibility and I just fancied it anyway! So what do you get; A nice plastic box with what does seem like an awful lot of bits for a small loco. First job is the gearbox and axles. I am not normally a fan of push fit gears and things but this all seems to have gone together nicely so we shall. Now some exciting bits - the chassis. I know I am being pretty sad here but this really is quite exciting! I have not made a kit with this style of construction before and is such a good way of representing the open frames of this loco; 'It's just like a skeleton' says little Iz and she is not wrong! Once bent up the three frames fit together perfectly and was a simple job to solder them all together with the help of a couple of bulldog clips. In a very short space of time we have this;

Thank you, two very sensible answers - still waiting for 'if the engines can talk then why can't they have magnets that defy the laws of physics. it does make sense but unfortunately can't test theory as toys have returned home along with owner! I have a horrible feeling that I did try them upside down though in an attempt to do anything to get them to repel and it didn't. Also, despite having loads of button magnets here I don't have any bar magnets at the moment so can't start any experiments into practical uses next. Just to find a silver lining on another very annoying fact of life i.e. the postman arriving with a parcel (full off tufnol offcuts I hope, for some other experiments!), when I had popped out to get milk - I now have to go to the sorting office tomorrow. Said sorting office is right next to mega toy store so may find myself returning with a sacrificial wagon. Oh, and in the hope that writing it down will help me to remember, a new can of grey primer from Halfords!

Having survived the crowds (and cancelled trains), involved in getting to, and getting around Warley show I have a loosely connected (honestly, I didn't mean that as a pun!), mystery. I shall explain. As has become a tradition in these parts, our rail friendly friends came over from Hertfordshire with their little girl and her collection of small push along Thomas toys. Now, these toys have a very interesting feature which I am wondering if there is any use for in our pursuits, but I am at a loss to explain it (short of fatally dismantling one and even I am not cruel enough to do that). Alternatives then are to either buy one myself to destroy or pose the question here. Anyway, feature is that they couple magnetically but - and this is the bit of magic - they will still couple if you turn the wagons around. Now having a rudimentary grasp of physics I know that this is not typical behavior for magnets. They do seem to rattle a bit when you shake them so something is moving around in side the coupling block. Could it be a rectangular magnet that is free to spin about the center (a sort of 'T' arrangement?) so one end will always be able to attract the end of the other magnet? Here are a couple of pics to illustrate - comments (sensible or otherwise!), would be most appreciated.

Am thinking along the 2x1 route but maybe made up into 'L' girders that will bolt together to form a sort of tray that the layout will fit into. Have plenty of bolts left over as Screwfix make it stupid not to buy a hundred at a time! Had not thought of ball catches (have a handy tip that I will share soon on door bolts though). Trouble is though, it is more of a vertical alignment problem I seem to have although I have thought that adding an extra runner in the middle could well help. Am pretty sure that I am going to be really boring though and go for points instead. Was pretty sure when I built it that I would operate mostly from the left hand (traverser), end but as it has turned out I seem to be more comfortable at the other end when I am by myself so makes sense to go for points really. As to why the Y would go only one way I have no idea! Am sure there is a reason somewhere but is going to be far easier just to replace it - I hasten to add that I usually abhor replacing rather than repairing but sometimes frustration just takes over!

Thanks very much for all the kind comments but not being one to sit on any laurels (they are far too uncomfortable!), will make sure that it all works even better next time - see next post for details.

Well, that is the second exhibition done and dusted and on the whole things went a lot better than the first but still found dome things that I will do differently next time (Nottingham in March). Biggest problems, again seemed to come from the fiddle yards - both of them this time. The smaller yard at the far end which is laid with two ordinary OO Peco small radius points gave problems, just couldn't seem get any stock one side of the Y point which effectively meant I had only one road to play with. Think the only solution is to relay it again but this time with the larger radius 0-16.5 points that work fine on the rest of the layout. These will take up more space though so think I shall have to bolt on a small extension to the end. The traverser, despite a total rebuild was still a complete lottery as to anything would run over it. I actually found that the weight of the stock on the boards was affecting the alignment which is not a good situation. I think there must be just too much slop in the runners. Again, I think that the only solution is to rebuild and lay it with points but again will have to add a small bolt on extension to make to make the roads long enough. Locos were a lot more reliable this time but still had the little Simplex refuse to move at all despite having worked perfectly the day before and the Dick Kerr worked nicely in the morning but went on strike completely in the afternoon. I imagine that both are probably something really simple but haven't looked into it yet. Have also been wondering if there is a better way of supporting the boards using fewer trestles as they take up so much room in the car. I could just put one under the middle board and then one each under the two outside boards (there are five boards in total), but this would completely rule out being able to erect the layout myself which is something I would rather avoid. A girder system perhaps but would have to be careful that it didn't take up more room than the trestles. Am having a bit of a rest from these matters though for a few days and instead have made a start on one of the kits that has been staring at me, goading me into making a start for a couple of weeks. More on this soon.

Sorry, forgot to say Thank You for the kind comments that preempted this post and were left on the previous one!

Second show done. Was wondering, at 5 o'clock this morning as I got up and after spending pretty much all day yesterday packing the layout and cleaning track and wheels est. , if any of the punters paying their £3 to get into the show would appreciate it. Well, it looks like they did and I have a trophy to prove it! A huge amount of work and absolutely knackered now but worthwhile and what it is all about really. Big Thank You to Andy for putting together a surprisingly extensive show and all the nice people we met today. I say 'we' as little Iz (all nine years of her), insisted on coming and was impeccably behaved and actually pretty useful! Have learned a bit more, which will be translated into more improvements before the next outing to Nottingham in March. So here it is and off to bed!

Unfortunately it is necessary to have the gearboxes back to back as the motors just won't fit the body the other way around. I was hoping to have a second one working today but the extended running in has shown up a very poor mesh on one gear box so that will have to be another rebuild. The first Dick Kerr is going pretty well except for a bit of slowing down in points. Back to back and wheel alignment is fine so fear it is just that because the gearboxes are such a tight fit between the frames there is no lateral movement on either axle making the whole thing a bit stiff. Think I may just have to live with it.

I started this entry about half an hour ago but thought I would try to find a proper copy of the image that inspired this and a little corner of the layout. Well, I didn't find the image I was after but did find loads of other stuff to distract me. Back to the subject. Have had this in mind for a while as an unusual wagon load and to have a go at getting the flavour of the scene. The stretchers and figure are white metal castings from PLM and the cross beams are from copper clad strip. I did try various types of wood but all the bits being taken out made them all rather weak. Paint is acrylic, mainly from Vallejo. I have become quite a fan of these small things that look more like eye drop containers. A little blob on a bit of old plastic as a palette goes a long way and colours can be blended and thinned with water to get a lovely flow. They are really fast drying as well which is great for impatient people like me - I managed this in one twenty minuet session. Am afraid I can't try to recreate the pic at the moment as all the stock is put away and the layout is half dismantled ready for it's outing to the Weston on Trent show on Saturday.

I did try this but requires the band to go in a figure of 8 and it rubbed badly on the cross over point. Am sure there must be a way though. Good news though is that one of the 20HP Simplex is up and running albeit pretty noisily. Bad news is that the motor on the other has not responded well to the extended running regime and tool up smoking which as we all know can be fatal!

Bloody Hell! Works much better than mine - perhaps I should give up this scale rubbish and get Thomas in !

I have one sitting in it's box starring at me right now and saying come on plug me in if you are man enough!

Great variety of trains but hope you were wrapped up nice and warm!

Am now in the last few days before the layouts second outing (Weston on Trent on Saturday), and compared to the mad panic and VERY late nights before the first one, things are positively serene here! I guess I have not been completely idle in the last two months and most of the niggles have been sorted but have finally got down to sorting out some of the loco issues. Simple one today was to tidy up the sound installation in the second open 40hp Simplex which was long overdue. Sorry not managed a pic of this one! A slightly thornier one was the Dick Kerr issue. I have two of these built from the Worsley works etches with home made - sorry - hand built chassis. Only problem is they have never really worked properly. I really must bite the bullet one day and make a proper gear train for them but until then a motor and gearbox for each axle has to do. Only trouble is, the two motors just will not run at the same speed. At this stage I would like to show you a couple of pics but they are still uploading so suspect a bit of a problem is going on so a thousand words will have to do instead! My solution was to build a completely new chassis with a lot more care but still the same problem. Now for the heavy handed approach - I just wired the motors up clamped them in a vice and let them run in for what turned out to be a whole day as I forgot about them. Result - worked a treat! Both motors are now running silky smooth and together. So not wanting to stop there I have the original chassis running in down in the cellar right now. And, it has company. After this success I turned back to the Nigel Lawton 20HP Simplex that caused me so much trouble with the pick ups in the Summer. Well, a fresh head and bit of time saw a solution - maybe not too elegant, but effective - quickly in place and now the first one is running in quite nicely on the old Duet (will chip them later), with the Dick Kerr down in the cellar. Why stop at one Simplex though? Applied the same solution to the other one and that is now running away right in front of me. Next job will be to get as much weight as is physically possible into what there is of a body on them. This has already meant that I have drilled out a drivers bottom (ouch!), and filled it with lead shot as it is heavier than white metal. In amongst all this, I also managed to sort out one of the Hunslet 4-6-0s that had been causing problems. A bit of adjustment to the front bogie to ensure that the wheels actually went around was a big help, as was shaving some off the re-railing bar at the front and insulating the the remains. A couple of simple things that just required the time to look at them carefully and work out what was causing the problem. Think I still have a problem with the upload but hopefully I will have a stronger than ever loco turnout for Saturday.

Do you think I got a bit too carried away this time?

Couldn't resist this little 3D printed Deutz model when I ordered the Joffre a few weeks ago and have finally got around to sorting it out. Pretty straight forward really but as with most of these things ended up taking longer than I anticipated. So here we have the basic body with a 24mm Tenshodo moto bogie fitted. 24mm wheelbase gives you an idea of how small this actually is - would be small in 4mm but in 7mm...... Still, I have managed to fit a sound chip in without too much trouble; From the start I realised that the key to getting this loco working properly would be getting enough weight into it so I visited the cellar again to trim another chunk of the old lead pipe down there! One bit that I am rather proud of is that rather than making the floor from plasticard as was my first thought, why not do it from lead! Here it is suitably weighted and with some more detail added in the form of grab handles and sand boxes; Now for some paint. I wanted a pretty worn look to this one as it is a German loco that has been captured and is unlikely to have been looked after for a while. A base coat of grey primmer was followed by a rough coat of Model Mates rust and then a spray of acrylic varnish. The hair spray then came out along with some rock salt. Here is the loco well seasoned! Back down stairs to the spray booth in the cellar and a rough coat of black and a bit of grey to one it down. It was then given a good scrub to reveal a patchy, well worn look; Couplings were fitted and as seen in a contemporary photo a bit of sign writing was run up in PhotoShop and printed on decal paper; Pretty pleased with it already but will be even better with a driver and some junk in the 'roof rack'.

A week of very mixed fortunes - and it has certainly cost me a fortune! Am afraid there is little actual modeling to report but lots of inspiration. An exploding gearbox on the M40 put an early and very expensive end to our attempt to get to the narrow gauge show at Swanley last Saturday. Very disappointed my self but even more so for my unfortunate companion and Trevor whom I was meant to be helping with his layout. Anyway, half term trips to the Lake District was then disrupted by my other car going wrong even before it got to the motorway - luckily just a split hose this time but very unwelcome. So, one hire car later we arrive in the Lakes a day late to horizontal rain and lots of it. As the planed walking was right out of the question and the pencil museum was absurdly packed (what is more unlikely? A pencil museum or it actually being busy!), there was no alternative but a visit to the Threkeld Mining Museum. What a gem! OK, slick multi media presentation it is not but delightfully friendly and suitably ramshackle it certainly is. First thing we did was a ride behind their definitely not ramshackle Bagnall but it wasn't long before little Iz and I were in the cab and having a little ride on it! There is a wealth of detail here just asking to be modeled, both in the buildings and the 70 or so excavators around the site in various states of repair. I particularly liked these little details of the buffer beam hook carving a curved groove and what the inside of a working cab roof actually looks like; And when no one was looking we had a little play with the points! I fully intend to get back there one day and hopefully in better weather. Next day was, of course, perfect weather but we had a date in Blackpool to help my Father in Law relive his second (or third!), childhood. Sorry, but unlike the Lakes I really don't think we will be heading back there anytime soon and certainly not to Tower Models who I found to be completely unhelpful and on the edge of rudeness - and I really don't like being told flatly that a certain motor doesn't exist when I have one here right now! Anyway, how about this for a bit more model inspiration!

Ha! I shall turn it up to 11 then!

I know that this entry is going to leave most of you rather unfulfilled due to a) really having to viewing the layout to appreciate it and my lack of initiative in not doing a video (I will get around to it honest!). I also realise that there is a lot of scope here for making myself very unpopular with other exhibitors at shows. Yes, I have finally managed to wire the layout for ambient background sound - and I think it is rather good! The hardware was simple - a basic PC sound system with two high frequency speakers and one for the bass. It includes a dock for an MP3 player so that was easy. What was not quite so easy was getting the sounds for it. After a couple of false starts with pre - recorded soundtracks (one labeled WW1 which had a Merlin engined airplane zooming across at all too frequent intervals!) I decided to DIY it. A free program called Audacity was used and various sounds assembled (all free!), from various places steering clear of loads of very poor video game type sounds. The real break through though was finding a site which allows you to strip the audio from YouTube clips (be careful here lots send the anti virus protection into overdrive!). This gave access to loads more stuff. I have not made the mistake of putting too many different sounds in all at once as I do want it to be background sound and, without being too arty, have made an almost paradoxical juxtaposition between the two ends of the layout. The trick to this is a skylark twittering away to it's hearts content in the left channel while there is a constant murmur of guns on the other side. Sorry, but you have to be here to appreciate it! One major frustration though was having to do battle with I Tunes to put it on my Shuffle which has sat happily with the same stuff on it for years. Managed to wipe it all off of course and the backup I thought I had made didn't - I really don't fancy listening to an hours worth of birds and explosions at the gym! So here is the basic set up; And the temporary speaker arrangement while I work out the best places for them;

Sometimes, locos are not the best means of sorting problems out - get a cheap multi meter from Maplins and this can show you exactly how much current is getting through. The squeezing bit might be the clue to this as is probably a problem with those nasty little contacts on the blades - try cleaning them and the area they contact under the rail (not easy I know but could well be gummed up with PVA after ballasting). I think this will cure it but at the end of the day an extra feed as suggested by Don with polarity changed by a switch is the only real long term solution.

I know, I rather like it as well. Just waiting for someone to point out that the wire is not going through the pickets though - might have to plant some stakes for it instead.

Well the sun was shining for a bit at least this morning. Not that that makes any difference as started this projectet yesterday. I thought it was about time that I made some more wagon loads and page 59 of the new WDLR album gave me the inspiration. I am getting this in quickly to counter any possible questions - yes, they did have bails of hay a hundred years ago! After a bit of hacking away at a piece of balsa out of one of those bargain bundles I had a bunch of suitably sized blocks and after attacking them with a pointy thing I had some passable bales; Then followed some experiments in colouring them; Just to prove that not everything I attempt works out I include these sorry examples; At one point I seriously wondered if I should just use bite sized shredded wheat! In the end I found the natural colour to be the best base, just a quick coat of sanding sealer and then some washes of acrylic and then pastels on top gave a pretty good representation. To get things right I again used images summoned up from Google but was appalled by the lack of understanding of the difference between hay and straw! My source picture has one wagon all open and then two covered with tarpaulins which was handy as I was able to disguise my colouring disasters! Forgot to say that each bale was tied with tread which in my best tradition is almost invisible but at least i (and you as well !), know it i there. The tarpaulins were made from tissues and PVA and then a coat of sanding sealer to make them lie flat. Paint was Vallejo acrylic with the shadows put in when everything was nice and wet but the highlights dry brushed when everything had dried out. The balsa bases were painted and anonymous black so they won't show the lack of bails inside the wagon and a bit of iron wire was included to make magnetic removal possible. So here we have some lovely loaded wagons; And finally, on having a bit of a tidy up yesterday, I found a load of poppies and wire pickets I had made ages ago and said out loud 'where shall I put these to be safe?' - the truly brilliant wifely answer was of course - 'on the layout' so here are more poppies and barred wire; The only wagon load I am really missing now are ammunition boxes but that is a problem for another day.

Thanks for all the comments and likes - think that might be a record! I just knocked it up over a couple of days! OK, maybe not entirely true as I had been thinking about it for a while but the actual construction was very rapid indeed. The thing that made it really easy though was the omnipresent Google, a quick search on WW1 dugouts brings up loads of pictures and I just took the bits I liked from them and recreated them from odds and ends in true Blue Peter fashion.