Kaolin2FS

Very nice indeed Jeremy. Those Farish mouldings are a big improvement on the old ones but the detail you're adding looks very worthwhile. I'm waiting for the new Farish 37/4 and 37/5 to come out before I increase my fleet size of St Blazey tractors, but in the meantime I've seen enough good lowered examples now to turn my hand to one of the older Poole models to get my eye in...

No, it was me.  Been away for too long...

Graham

May I, too, add my congratulations - not only for a very handsome-looking footbridge, but more importantly for joining the darkside!

Graham

Thanks Robbo, the PAAs may end up being a bit of a challenge/scratch build job as the Farish model doesn't accurately reflect the side ribs or top ends of the wagon; the PRA should be much more straightforward as there's a cracking 3D body available (I think from Shapeways?).

 

Still waiting for the Farish Polybulks, hopefully not long now...

Graham

Proper job!  Coming on nicely.  Let me know when you come to weather it, I'm sure I've got some photos of inside the top of the bridge, in case I ever wanted to model something similar.

Graham

Another great little kit from TPM, nicely executed, which reminds me - I really ought to get on with my rake of 12 HEAs which need TPM ladders and underframe detail. Never enough hours on my days off! Will be good to see how you get on with the Mathieson 3-links.

Graham

I envy the space you have Jeremy... no room for 9-coach expresses in this household! Especially like the final shot... captures the feel of Par well, just a shame it's an EE Type 4 not a Type 3 on the CDAs!

Graham

 

Edit: I meant to ask before: do you have a track plan of the whole layout, and are you running this with DC or DCC?

Looking good. If you can crank these out in 2 hours apiece you'll be there in no time!

Graham

Congratulations on the job - and good luck with the househunting!

The layout's coming together well, I especially like the neat work on the operating panels and the turnout operating mechanism.

Graham

Liking the mix of stock and the freight emphasis... keep us updated on progress on the turnouts when you get round to building those!

Graham

Code 40 bullhead from Marcway is even better. It is straight both horizontally and vertically.

 

David

That's good information thanks David, I was unaware of this source of rail

 

 

You need to make sure you've got a sleeper supporting the crossing nose (the sharp end of the 'V') - looking at your diagram, I don't think this is the case.

 

Good luck with the steel rail - others have used it to great effect, but I couldn't get on with it, and now get my rail from Marcway as David has noted above.

 

Andy

Andy, I had planned to support the very tip of the nose although it's not obvious unless you blow up the image. However, also see below...

 

 

Hi Graham,

Don't worry about your lack of progress due to work. I've done nothing for almost 2 weeks now due to work being so busy. We need to stop work but still get paid so we can thrive in our hobbies!!

Best regards,

Jeremy

I'll drink to that Jeremy... roll on Friday!

 

 

I would suggest sneaking extra sleepers in now in the key areas around the crossing and the toe. In these critcial areas it would be better to have more control of the gauge and the top.

 

I'm afraid that this will end in tears. The steal rail is very difficult to use as, particularly at code 40, it is too soft - especially the coiled stuff.If have used the coiled stuff (Nickel Silver) for some plain track but only after a lot of messing about and, as others have said, its not worth the effort - I wouldn't attempt to use it for pointwork - use Marcway or Association straight rail.

Also, you will not save any time by missing out all those sleepers. More likely you will waste lots of time trying to sort out all the problems of track wandering out of gauge and level due to it being inadequately supported. Put all the sleepers in, the extra few soldered joints will take no more than a couple of minutes.

 

Jerry

Don and Jerry, thank you for the voice of experience. I'll now certainly put the sleepers back in, as suggested, as well as trialling the steel rail on some plain line first - making sure I have some straight NS on standby in case the air turns blue!

 

Thank you all for the comments and suggestions.

 

Graham

Thanks Nick; I wanted to try steel rail though and that's only available in coils to my knowledge. The Track Handbook is already on my shopping list for Warley later this month!

Graham

Argos, welcome to the 2mm newbie blog club! I'm in a similar position, having made one easitrac point semi-successfully (it has a few tight spots I need to shake out) and just started work on a copper-clad crossover (which I will bury in 'concrete' once it's running smoothly). Looking forward to seeing how things progress. Were you able to identify the reason your easitrac point didn't work?

 

I can also identify with the last 2 points, although I substitute triathlons for cross-country...

 

...and just to beat Pete to it, do post a track plan when you have one!

 

Graham

Sloooowly...

I'm probably not the best person to offer advice on this following my experiences off inset track

Pete, on the contrary, it was your trials and errors that prompted me to try the polyfilla route!

Tom E and Tony Simms have both undertaken this with excellent results though...using DAS I recall. Alternatively you could add a check rail which does help...

Thank you - I've seen Tom E's and it really does look the part. Thanks for the tip on Tony Simms' post too. I'd thought of adding a check rail but will try and get away without one; on the photos I've seen there are only a few where a check rail is obvious and I'm not sure if it would make my life easier or harder!

Hi Graham,

 

I used polyfilla to represent concrete on my very first layout that I built (I think I was about 12 or 13 at the time). I used it in the depot area of the layout and if I can remember rightly, there was no evidence of rusting to the rails. Can't remember if the rails were steel or nickel silver though.

However, I managed to get a super smooth finish on the polyfilla (which was mixed to a creamy consistency) and once painted really looked the part. May even have an old photo or two kicking around somewhere.

 

Best regards,

 

Jeremy

 

Edit: Just thought I would add in that once the mixture was level, I used a scraper dipped in water and ran it over the top of the polyfilla, leaving a nice smooth finish.

Thanks Jeremy, I'll just give mine a going over with some sandpaper before painting. On the final version, I'll make sure I do this scenic work first, to avoid the uncharacteristic sight of a Cornish snowscene!

Just found this entry - very nice work! Do you have a cunning plan for keeping the rails clean, or have you found they don't need it?

Graham

Great photos - what a comparison between shots 3 and 4, the oval buffers look the piece and the whole model takes on a life of its own just as soon as those couplings are removed. Proper job!

Graham

Very nice progress - looking forward to seeing this in the future! Love the sweeping curves at 3:00. And the 37 on tanks of course. Graham

That's some nice detailing work there Graham.

 

Thanks for posting the comparison too - I had forgotten that Minitrix did the HAA originally.

 

Look forward to see the finished rake hauled by one of your tractors...

Thanks Pete, I'm working through them in batches of 6, work's getting in the way a little at present but I hope to have at least the first lot ready by Christmas. The Minitrix model is still an excellent model, improved further by filing down the over-thick end hopper supports. And running behind a tractor, as you say!

 

Hi Graham,

Like the extra detailing on the CDA's. I've got a few close up shots of them at Par and Lostwithiel, if you would like them I'll email them over to you. Just PM me your address. Will you be weathering them too?

Best regards,

Jeremy

Cheers Jeremy, PM on its way. There are some excellent photos of the wagons new on Paul Bartlett's site (http://paulbartlett.zenfolio.com/brcda)

and weathered EWS versions on Martyn Read's site (

) but I'm after wagons in the intervening time period, ie early on in their lives in ECC blue, especially around the time the labels peeled off which I think was around 1990-1992? I'll head over to the Cornish Railways section shortly but any help gratefully received!

Very nice! I have a similar question - how many will you get in your second boxfile - about 6 or so?

Graham

For the run a round I was going to suggest 8 was a good number and then you could do batches of 4 x CDA's with a DG at each end

 

Pete, that's a very good idea. I was originally going to have different-length rakes of permanently coupled stock, but that could get tricky remembering where the 'join' is, and of course taken too far I could just as well fit DGs to the whole lot! I still need to see if it looks strange having a mix of DGs and 3-link in the same train.

 

I will hone in on features I like from the various structures as work progresses but I'm not basing it on one at present.

 

The mainline liveried 37 adds some variety too!

 

Thanks Jez, it was quite a colourful period all in all... Well, toned down with an all-over whitewash of course...

Never mind the passenger service - those Tullis Russell hoppers really do look superb. Will definitely be on the lookout for this on the circuit next year.

Graham

Rich, absolutely superb wagons... and if you could find the time to show a photo of the instanter coupling you've made, that would be greatly appreciated.

Graham

Look forward to hear about your concrete too...looks like you took the DAS route...

 

 

Actually, it's a bog standard household filler, in this case, Polyfilla I think; I'll expand more shortly!

 

I think the Mathieson clear rapido is actually cleverer than their 3 link, they are so much less visible at normal viewing distance.

 

I agree that the clear rapido does look good, but bearing in mind the other detail I'm adding to the CDAs (which, if I ask myself honestly, will probably be very hard to make out at NVD too), I just couldn't compromise with rapidos.

 

Thanks for the comments!

 

Graham

Thanks Kris, I was expecting trouble I have to admit, but I have tried pushing the rake backwards and was pleasantly surprised when they passed through all turnouts on my test track ok. I think I'll just have to be very careful with the min radius of any curves. The relatively short wb of the wagons and the lack of excessive sideways 'play' help. Graham