Woody C

So many interests, so little time! The American interest I have had for decades and I have been so lucky to have visited the States and Canada on several occasions and on one visit I actually got a ride in the cab of an F unit. Awesome! As the journey came to an end I asked what the door leading into the hood was for. He just opened it and there was a toilet! My face must have been a picture!

Thank you for the continued interest in my layout and for the comments and likes which are always much appreciated. It has been some time since my last post and even though I did highlight in my very first post that my pace of achievement in modelling was akin to glacial progress I did think I would have achieved a bit more by now. However looking back over the last few weeks I have been busy, just not with railway modelling! So whilst much of this post is not directly related to the layout I hope there is something of interest to you and I will be progressing on the layout at some point in the future as I explain later in this post! One of those things that has slowed me down was that I had a cataract operation at the beginning of June. A consequence of my detached retina about a year ago. It is only when something like that happens you appreciate the gift of sight and my admiration and gratitude to the NHS for their treatment and care is overwhelming they saved my sight and no doubt many others. If you ever have what appears to be a black part of vision in your eye as though someone has pulled a curtain over part of it get yourself to your nearest Eye Casualty ASAP. The sooner you are treated the better the chances of retaining your sight. Following on from various comments regarding my garden wall I feel compelled to share this picture with you which illustrates just how remarkably coincidences can naturally happen with no prior planning or thought as I informed Mrs Woody when, just out of interest I laid this 00 third radius curve on top of the wall. Quiet remarkable as David Coleman would say - that's showing my age! Almost as though it was built for a garden model railway and Smudge the cat seems to be surveying the possibility! And on another matter, as part of the overall project I had to re-level parts of the grassed area of my garden, which those blessed with gardening skills would refer to as a lawn, to match up with new edgings. If like me trying to cut a turf to a consistent depth turns out to be impossible with what emerges on the end of the spade being more cheese wedge shaped then flat bread, you will understand the problems of having to relay turfs which all have different depths to them. years ago I would have re-laid the turf and belted hell out of it with the back of the spade to get it to some resemblance of level and then wonder why it died! As I get older such energetic activities are now beyond sensibility so with a bit of thought a WOW moment emerged and I created a turf cutting plank. I had an off cut of laminate flooring to which I nailed three pieces of inch and a half batten. The picture below shows it as well as the general idea of how to get consistent level turfs using an old and expendable saw riding along the top of the battens to cut off the surplus soil. You won't be using the saw for any form of woodworking again but it certainly made relaying the turfs much easier! The laminate floor is about the same width as my small spade which made cutting the turfs to the right width easy as well. Working smarter not harder as I get older! With regards to railway modelling and in particular my narrow gauge layout not a great deal has been happening with the good weather and light nights meaning gardening and cycling type activities have taken up the majority of my time and what time is left has usually been spent stretched out on the sofa in a vain attempt to cure a bad back! However many of those jobs have now been ticked off and a bit of time is being spent planning the next stage of the layout which will be an extension with a small canal wharf and some form of settlement. Its clear in my mind I just need the time! However I do now have a slight distraction in that in my man cave, otherwise known as The Room of Gloom and around which much of the gardening work has been focused now has this in it. Oh Dear! Another project and you can see my widespread varied interests with Tornado, a rather nice pair of DRS 47s and an American Alco S-2! I am though thinking of an 009 feeder line being incorporated into this - just for the fun of it!

Brilliant! I feel a sense of relief similar to having watched the final episode of In the line of duty - all is now well!

There are moments when I just sit in awe as to how someone achieves excellence. This is one of those moments. Much respect Giles for not only coming up with the idea but producing a prototype that is better looking and finished than my best models! The video is great for illustrating clearly how it all goes together and works. Thanks.

Superb modelling Nile! Detailed and innovative!

Strangely enough Ian, the various curves in the wall and edgings are all built to a minimum radius of 2 foot which as I explained to Mrs. Woody when questioned, is nothing to do with model railways but the ideal radius for visual utopia when displaying plants and other items of flora and fauna that she may wish to see planted - usually by me following her instructions! Plans are of course subject to change!

I have to admit it was intentional! The last topic that I had to study for my O Level history was the First World War. I had a great history teacher, Mr. Stratford, who not only was a very popular teacher but had the ability to bring history alive which was unusual back in the 70s. His teaching together with Black Adder and the host of fascinating history programmes these days means WW1 is still a matter where I thirst for knowledge and have an even greater respect and regard for those who fought in that and other conflicts regardless of the behind the scenes politics. When I first started working I was with guys who had gone through Dunkirk and D day as well as the Far East. Occasionally at lunch time something might have brought about some chat about their experiences. All incredible but most of all humbling that these guys made no big deal about it. Sorry, bit philosophical! Something in the garden sir? Ohhhh suits you! Strangely enough, but not for Mrs. Woody's eyes or ears, there are plans in the back of my mind!!!!!

I am probably showing my age but there used to be a basic set of principals to life. You worked to support yourself and family for both the basics and luxuries of life and you lived within your means. If you wanted something you funded it yourself. It does appear, for no doubt many reasons, that those principals appear to to be in decline. I am not going to judge if that is right or wrong but just as not everyone can be a pop star or top league footballer we cannot all be influencers and YouTube sensations. From conversations with those with teenage and younger children it does appear though that influencers and YT sensations is an off quoted desire by many youngsters. It will be interesting to see how we as a society change over the next few years with the influence of the internet and things like YT. One thing for certain though is just as in my younger years I don't expect anyone else to fund my hobby!

Hello Chris, Been absence from the forum for a while so just catching up on your progress. A great build and as you say nearly there! I can share your frustration with paint issues. I once spent weeks building a painting a 1/25 scale truck. Final job was to varnish it which I did with a Halfords clear coat spray only to see all the paint, decals and glazing wrinkle and craze! The old rule was that never mix acrylics, enamels and cellulose but these days there are techniques to use them all on the same model. However, being somewhat cautious I have over the years switched to acrylics mainly Tamiya and Vellejo the latter being particularly good for brush painting. Looking forward to seeing the finished mode. It will get there! Woody.

Hello John, Can not say much more than total admiration for your modelling skills and the superb models you produce. Woody

Great progress Nile. The buildings look great and really add character to this great layout which I hope you are still progressing with. Woody

Hello Keith, Having been absence from the forum for a while I have only just caught up with your latest work. I am impressed with your scratch build, the materials and techniques you are using and your ability to narrate and illustrate not only the success but also the inevitable downs when trying new techniques. I think everyone who has read through your posts has learnt something valuable. Thank you for taking the time to post your progress. Woody

Up most respect Ian! The White House has one red button but you have four! Hopefully the consequences of using yours are somewhat lesser then the one in the White house!

Firstly thank you for viewing this topic and much appreciation to those who have liked and commented. Secondly apologies that since the beginning of April modelling has not just gone on the back burner but more akin to being put into the deep freeze with a 'Do not disturb' note on it! We all have times like this and on occasions it can be beneficial to do something else for a while. In my case I do have that itch to get started again. However the something else at the moment is a big revamp of the garden. Believing that April would bring about the benefits of warm weather we had last year I was somewhat shocked by the frosts and as for May - well April showers just moved month! Anyway part of the gardening revamp is to do with my Man Cave or Room of Gloom as I have christened it. I have nearly moved into it, that's the modelling part of me, Mrs Woody has yet to throw me out there permanently but who knows the future.....? So without turning this model railway forum into a garden landscaping forum this may illustrate the scale of work. Under that part built wall is an 18 inch deep trench dug through clingy clay to put power into the Room of Gloom - handy for heat and power when I get thrown out there - and moving those Yorke slabs was a course in how you loose your strength and get a bad back as you get older! That and laying about 200 block pavers as an edging strip to the grassed area - I just can not bring myself to call it lawn in fear of upsetting true gardeners - has taken me several weeks. The wall? Well actually I like laying bricks - not very good at it but it is very therapeutic and a bit like railway modelling as you get a sense of achievement when you stand back and view. I can understand why Winston Churchill enjoyed building walls in his time way from Downing Street. As an aside getting hold of cement and sand is causing problems and I have spent several days trying to get hold of basic materials. Something to do with national demand and a fire in a factory in the Midlands I am told! Anyway, hopefully sometime next month may see all this work finished in time to enjoy a glorious summer?!?!? However in times recovering inside from muscular pains and drying out after the latest drenching I have rediscovered my 009 Project of Woe which was hiding behind items now moved to the Room of Gloom. I started this in 2016 by buying one of Bachmann Baldwins in WD livery - excuse the derailed front wheel! A fantastic model but this one has had problems. It has blown two DCC chips so is now a DC only loco. Anyway the loco purchase led to a few WD livery wagons being bought and then as the various events to commemorate WW1 were in full flow an idea for a small layout to feature a WW1 setting came to mind. By August 2018 I finally got round to starting, after all how long would it take to build - it would all be over by Christmas or so I thought! There was a speedy initial progress, but as you can see the project remains woefully neglected. Also, there were and continue to be some constructional issues. However my break from modelling, my rediscovery of this PoW (Project of Woe) and a renewed desire to get on with my quarry layout that started this thread hopefully means progress will once again be made - after all its just for the fun of it! At least Chloe the cat looks hopeful! Or does that grey Baldwin look like an interestingly shaped mouse?

Have watched the video twice and may take my ear defenders off when I watch it a third and fourth time! I can watch this time and time again, its just fascinating, informative and fantastic fun! For those of us following your progress in this thread Ian, I'm sure this video suddenly brings it all together and we all wish we had your layout in our own homes to enjoy! Must bring some good memories from Christmas 1968 and did you ever think over 50 years on you would still have the loco and the layout of your dreams? 'Unless these two characters have something else planned' . I can't help thinking this may be a lure to see if I bite! Well whether or not I will. Are they intent on getting hold of beer in crate or some other form or are they looking at some form of line realignment to allow for some fine scale development?

'What could possibly go wrong?' Great progress Ian but this does sound as though you are expectant of some form of problem or are you? You have an ability to leave readers hanging in suspense! You weren't involved in scripting Line of Duty were you?

Having watched the video I am in awe! Firstly there is the fascination of watching the automated control of the trains especially effective on the mainline - its mesmerising and in some way an antidote to the outside World! Secondly as this is the first model railway video that I have ever seen to contain a health and safety warning on loud noise! I feel almost responsible! There is almost something Simpsonish here - ' Kent Brockman : Springfield has come down with a fever: football fever. If you have the fever, there's only one cure. Take 2 tickets, and see the game Sunday morning. TV Service Announcer : Warning. Tickets should NOT be taken internally. Homer : See? Because of me, now they have a warning.'

Hello Keith, Great progress! As you have illustrated so well momentum is a key factor in modelling and glad that it is with you at the moment. Unfortunately my momentum has all gone over the last couple of weeks as some garden projects take priority. However in my mind I can see where I want to be with my layout so hopefully in a couple of weeks things will start up again. However by the look of your progress you will probably have completed your layout by then! Look forward to seeing you bring this layout to life. Woody

Hello Neil, Well this weekends work certainly makes a big difference! Out of interest do you always use Sculptamold? Never used it myself but it looks a fairly clean method of bringing shape to the landscape whereas my usual plaster/filler method normally ends in some form of disaster that leads to strained domestic relationships! Woody

Hello Chris, Trust that all goes as well as these things can do with regard to your duties over the next few months. Been in a similar situation recently so appreciate it is not an easy time for you. No doubt you'll keep an eye on the forum even if your own modelling takes a backseat. I will be at some stage probably be creating a Woody POW or as it will be know Project of Woe where anything that can go wrong has and will no doubt continue to go wrong! Makes a change from a WOW! Woody

Hello Keith, Great to see the progress you have made this weekend. Looks nice and solid and impressed by the spirit level. Be interesting to see how the 'Weigh Ins' go as the layout progresses - Layout Weight Watchers could lead onto a whole new topic! Woody.

Hi Chris, Nice kit and much admiration for your wife on getting you the necessary bits! As the title to your post indicates, this could well be the start of something bigger. Once you build the kit it will look great on the Warwell but you'll want somewhere to give it a run and then some wagons for it to haul and a scenic setting would be nice to take photographs....., - I think many of us have been down this route before. There is no cure but it is fun! Woody.

Hello Keith, Hope you don't mind the suggestion but I would be tempted to put the track bed on polystyrene supports. Wicked do various sheets including this https://www.wickes.co.uk/Kay-Metzeler-General-Purpose-Polystyrene-EPS70---2400mm-x-600mm-x-50mm/p/210802 at 50mm thick. You could double up to get 100mm or they also do a 25mm sheet which would give you 75mm height when combined with the 50mm. The advantage is that you get a guaranteed flat surface, its unlikely to warp or be affected by moisture, its easy and quick to cut (bread knife is ideal) to cut to the shape of the track bed, you can easily form holes through it for wiring or creating space for point motors, its light, it gives support along the whole of the track bed rather than at single points with wood risers and finally the spare offcuts can be used to form the other landscape. The only downsides are that it can be messy, it needs a non solvent adhesive and it is not perhaps the most environmentally friendly material as it never degrades. However that does make it an everlasting solution! Hope this may be of use. I like the additional longer run run loop which I think will make a big difference to operational interest and flexibility. Woody.

You'll need to type louder - I have your YouTube video going at the moment!

I do like that! Something very therapeutic about watching a train go round. In addition to hesitation, repetition and deviation it appears that there is a fair amount of resonance also being created. Is this just the camera picking up noise or has Wickes finest quality timber inadvertantly created a rather large sound bin? Never seen the 'Ear defenders should be worn whilst operating model railway' warning on manufactures boxes before but then as I never read instructions until the point that it doesn't work and I have admitted that I cannot put it back together because that is the only way to find out what's wrong, I may well have missed that one.