Revolution Mike B

I’ve taken a break from working on the station and done some work on a pair of JIAs. One has had a tail lamp fitted (what a pain in the backside that was) and both have been weathered as per current day running. Here’s one sat on the station board.... ...only 8 more to go!

While I was messing around with the camera last night, I managed to take this.... ...it’s a shame I couldn’t get the lights on because I think it would’ve really made it come to life.

Cheers mate. That would be an excellent idea!!

I hope everyone is keeping safe, and sane. With my day time job coming to a halt, I’m twiddling my thumbs a bit, but luckily, I brought the station board home so that I could work on the station buildings as mentioned previously. It’s been slow progress but for once, it’s nice not having to rush, although that still hasn’t stopped me from making mistakes though!! First up is one of two flower beds... ....the boulders are all hand made. I’ve also added some poster boards to the station building... Mini me found his way to the station too.... ....along with the Severn Models GWR benches. Today, boredom really set in and I turned the board in to a giant diorama (headlights courtesy of Paul’s photoshop skills).. There’s still a lot of detail to add yet, but there’s now plenty of time to plod on through. Stay safe....

Thank you Shane I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that your Dad inspired many people just like myself to ‘have a go’. He will continue to be missed by the modelling world, I’m sure, for many years to come. All the best Mike

With the whole Country approaching lockdown, and every show except RailEx NE cancelled, it’s safe to assume that I won’t be working on the layout for a while. I’ve managed to get the electrics finished all bar a couple of frog wires, and the signal decoders but it’s all connected up to iTrain. It’s been a massive learning curve and one which I wouldn’t have managed without James Hudson at DCC Train Automation, and he deserves a medal for his patience! There’s still a fair amount to do in terms of inputting locos and rolling stock but that’s par for the course. I’m going to spend a while getting the station buildings up-together now and finish off the 166, along with sorting out the rest of the stock. stay safe people and see you all on the other side.

Well progress has been going ok and both the up and down mainlines have now been relaid - trains are running fine and I’ve reballasted the repair. As you can see in the picture, the line leading in to the branch and the head shunt have suffered the same issue (even though I’d relaid the branch line before Swansea) so up they came too! Both repaired and partly ballasted.... Next job is to clean all the rough bits up and repaint everything. I’ve also added the ground signals from Matt at Absolute Aspects and will get them wired up as soon as I can. with all the shows for 2020 being cancelled, I’ve now got plenty of time to get things top notch.....as long as I stop playing trains!!!

Right, I still can’t upload pictures to my computer, so I’ll add the latest one via my phone. This is the rogue board joint that’s been bugging me for about two years now so I’ve finally decided to rip it up and relay it. It looks a lot worse than it is - I’ve removed everything down to baseboard level and will lower the track to take out the ski ramps on the board tops. I started this yesterday evening and with any luck I’ll have it ready to run trains by this evening.

Apologies for the complete lack of updates....I've changed the operating system on my PC and for some reason I can't upload any pictures to it. Given the fact that I have the same issue with my Mac, I'm guessing it's something to do with my phone? Anyway, written updates will have to do. I'm running a month behind (not entirely my fault) with the improvements to the layout, but so far all of the end plates have been strengthened and the old wiring has been completely removed. The fiddle yard boards have been relaid, along with the entry boards to make the centre roads longer, and to get most of the points off of the fiddle yard. Added to the control system have been the following: Digikeijs DR5000 Digikeijs DR 4018 x2 Digikeijs DR 4088 x5 MBT MP1 x24 I've removed the Cobalt IP DIgital point motors and replaced them with the above MP1s driven by the DCC Concepts AD!-HPs that were surplus from the 4018 installations. This whole process seems to be taking forever and I still can't run any trains........and on top of that, I've not even started to look at iTrain yet either! There is a positive side to this though - the boards are now very rigid when bolted together, and the wiring is now split in to a power bus and an accessory bus (the later will be powered by a DR5033). Hopefully, I'll work out how to get some pictures up without resorting to using my phone!

Brilliant weathering on those VTG wagons mate, but I'd keep those JNAs away from the sunlight - they're starting to warp!

I've had a few problems with it Martin, namely the fact that it expands! The problematic board joint in question is very odd, because the rails are soldered to panel pins so it physically cannot move. If I'm honest, I probably would use 5mm ply to create the ballast shoulder in future for just the reason you've mentioned. I'll try and get some close up pictures to show you how the cork has reacted.

Cav and Alex, whilst I don’t want to tell you how to run your business, I think it’s not the best decision you could make. Off the back of out conversation at Warley, the Hornby version isn’t anywhere near the standard you have set, and now they will clean up, with a model that’s not as good. Competition is healthy, and I personally feel that you’re on a sound footing with the 225, and the coaches to go with it. It takes a lot to impress me and there’s a lot to be said for smaller companies who really DO make a difference. I still think there’s a lot of mileage in this project, but it’s obviously too big a gamble for you. keep the faith. Mike

Getting there Ian

The new D Nuts turned up at work last week and look like this......... ...these really are a huge improvement over the original ones I used and are a doddle to fit - just drill an 11mm hole and then pull them in with a bolt and a washer. This is how the board joints look with them fitted (ignore the painting).. I've also managed to rewire all of Board A (the tunnel board) and it looks a bit like Ian's handiwork on Tidworth. Well it worked ok for him so why not do the same! I had a bit of a dilemma over what electrical connectors to use, but I've decided on some 12 pin GX20s and some trailer cable for the jumper leads. Hopefully, I'll get the other three boards completed by tomorrow evening and then I can crack on with fitting the new MBT point motors and DCC Concepts AD1-HPs. If anyone needs any Cobolt IP Digitals, I've got 9 for sale! Right, time to downlaod iTrain 5...................

Yes and No Andy. I've thought about using them but I need something that won't get destroyed in transit

Well I made a start on the boards last week and ripped out the wiring (not literally), and started reinforcing the ends...... .....all was going well until Friday evening until I bent down to pick something up off the workshop floor and locked my back up! Yesterday was spent mostly laying flat on the floor in agony, but on the plus side, it took the pain away from my arms and shoulder for a while! Today, I took a few dozen painkillers and attempted to crack on........ The end plates are now pretty solid so I may finally have a layout that won't fall to pieces...hopefully. There's still a few reinforcement blocks to add in a couple of places and another coat of primer here and there, but overall, I'm 90% there. James at DCC Train Automation sent me a few hundred feet of 24/02 wire for the new power buses and I'll make a start on those on Wednesday. I also had a good find on ebay for some alternatives to the D Nuts that I destroyed. Basically, they're M8 threaded feet locators for sofas etc, and have a flange that can be secured with screws. That'll fix the issue of pulling them through the end plates! Next dilemma is what electrical connections to use between the board joints.......

Kind words Phil, thank you

Well the plot thickens, as they say....or should that be....'I'm just thick'? The scenic baseboards are in a lot worse shape than I first thought, and I'll put this down to the following: I didn't glue the board parts, I just screwed them together, which was a pretty stupid idea. Not so bad when you can get to the screws but almost impossible once they've got three years worth of scenery on top of them! The 9mm ply at the board ends certainly isn't substantial enough and with the fact that the screws have worked loose, the plates flex by around 5mm! I've also found another problem, which we'll put down to the layout in transit. The panels that bolt up to the board ends to form a crate, rock under the weight, and this in turn has caused the D Nuts to pull through the ends of the boards. Ian and Paul have given me a couple of solutions so I'm going to try both and see how I get on, although I'd already had some similar thoughts on how to beef everything up. Everything else is now on hold until I get this fixed.....

Cheers for the clarification Paul

Cheers for the clarification John, they look very similar - I'd like to see one in the flesh because the bogies look identical

The sliding door MK3s have the Oxford Rail Chassis Graham, so you may be right.

Watch this space for 43185........

Pretty much a genius announcement! Loads of things aimed at collectors, lots of stuff for the cheaper end of the market, and a lot of sensible releases. Personally, I think Hornby have done very well here by creating a niche market. and I seriously think they've done the right thing. Long live the Red Box Company

Unfortunately, I didn’t seal mine, but good old wood primer (paint) appears to be the choice of my friends.

I’m probably the last person to ask for advice Rich, but I can tell you what NOT to do! Ideally, chose some good quality wood with lots of plys per mm. 9mm should be fine for the tops and the sides, but if you need to bolt it together, use 12, or better still 18mm on the frame ends. Make sure you glue everything - mistake number one for me because I just screwed it together and now I’m paying the price! if there’s any areas that will be weak, reinforce any joints with some blocks of wood, and once the boards are built, seal them with primer to stop moisture ingress. That’s the very basics and if you follow those simple guidelines, it should be a good foundation to build on.