Steam_Julie

Today I have been building a Paul Lunne type model of a model. The first stage was carried out to prove the strength of the proposed design. Steps of the basic baseboard construction Adding the high level support View blocking building added Canal basin cut away Theatre type presentation exhibition view Complete layout as packed away conditions Julie

It's also designed to be able to use the shunting puzzle with the fiddle yard in the packed up position! on the coffee table. I'm also thinking about moving the upper level, to a corner to corner position, so that it also acts as a brace, to prevent baseboard warp. Julie

My computer has been hacked. Please treat all messages from me as suspect until further notice. I have now secured my smart phone, so am now able to communicate in a secure manor! Hooray! Julie PS The proof is that I can now change fonts

Thinking about the practicalities of my design, for what I have decided to call Borough Lane. I have decided that the fiddleyard will be hinged, and therefore to make it more practical I have moved the signal box, so that it won't get damaged when the fiddleyard is folded away. I have also decided that the backscene will be removeable when the layout is packed up for transit. Julie

I suppose it a case of pushing the boat out, too far? I do like the lighting rig, the supports and the proscenium arch provide framing for the layout. Have you considered using a photographic backscene printed in vinyl to complete the scene? Incidentally what are the advantages of using an external blog? Julie

I've had a problem with my Farish 04, it has jamed and has had to be sent back for repair. Before it failed it ran very sweatly, including excellent slow running. But from time to time it stopped completely. Left in the box for a while, it then ran until it failed again! I took the body off, but could not diagnose the problem myself. The wheels offered no resistance when the motor was disingauged. The motor appeared to be OK, but the worm appeared not to turn when the motor turned. Julie

The only reason which I edited them was because searching using Google produced some odd results. Now the results are more predictable. Julie

The problem with the shorting is more lickley to occur with the terrier than the 04 becuase it has a longer wheelbase. Julie

I find that micro layouts present more interesting challenges than larger one do? Julie

I was running in a Dapol Terrier today, using the track work of Clovelly Road as a test track. This is one of the advantages of building a roundy roundy type layout, that one does not need a separate test track. I noticed that sometimes it stopped when negotiating the point crossing and that this triggered a short circuit indication on the controller. Close examination of the point revealed the source of the problem. When I curved the point the rail from the dead area of the crossing had moved slightly which closed the gap between the two live rails, opposite sides of the DCC supply such that the locomotive wheels sometimes shorted. The rail was then re-glued in place, this being necessary because of it's removal during the curving process. I have also added a thin strip of plastic card to the opposite check rail. This was then carefully files to make sure that the rail profile is correct. This ensures that the wheelsets are pulled slightly towards the outer rail, as they pass over the point. Since the points are made to accept all N gauge wheels, the slight closing of the gap between the running rail and the check rail does not cause problems. If I attempt to run locomotive or stock with the older wheels types this may cause problems. I also noticed when I was looking at the blog entries that there were inconsistencies in the Entry Tags, these have now all been checked and the inconsistencies removed. I have also repainted the ends of the coaches, a little thing but is does improve their look enormously. This was done using dry brushing because it is more controllable, than normal painting as to where the paint goes when painting small areas, particularly when painting the edges. Julie

Presumably when the bricks have been coloured using the paint and crayon method, that you can then stick the compounents together using traditional poly cement, without the colours running? Julie

What about using a Peco loco cassette to extend the track off scene. This also has the advantage of allowing load to be able to be inserted. This means that empty wagons in fulls out. Julie

Oops I need to repaint the coach ends first. Julie

I have now taken the fixed coach wheels on the brake 2nd coach and reassembled it after removing some material to allow the coach to be level when placed on the track. The first photograph is before and the second after the modifications. I have also removed excess material so that the coach ends flat and I have applied the first coat of paint. The coach need to be detailed, but we ar now basically there. The coaches run around the curves on the layout. The next stage is to coaches require to be weathered. Julie

The problem is that wood grows on trees! When alive the tree needs to draw water from it's roots to the leaves where photosynthesis occurs. The water is moved through fine tubes. These tubes in the wood you used to make your baseboard, unfortunately also transmit light from one lines light source led to another line detector. You require to seal the inside of each hole in the baseboard used for the light source and or detector to solve the problem. The problem can be also solved by using MDF as the top surface of your baseboard. Julie

Now that I have the coaches running and the technology used in the construction proved in 2mm, I can now start to work on the scenery too. Julie

I went to visit some friends who also build model railways, and in order to transport the coaches I used the original box, see the photograph below. I find that working on models with others inspirational. But you also have to be very organised to make sure you have everything you require. When working with very small parts I work withing a plastic box, which usually catches any small parts that fly off when I work with them. I get simular help in giving me get up and go also I get inspiration from the work of others who post on RMWeb too. I have now built the second class coach, the railway line in British Railways day had no first class accommodation. This coach was built using the same techniques as the brake one. The photograph below show the wheel arrangement. When I have finished the build, it will look as if the frame is not articulated, when seen from the side when running on straight or large radius track. But at the same time will allow the coaches to run over tight radius track. The final photograph shows the 2 coaches coupled together. I now realise that the brake coach requires slight modification because the fixed wheelset is slightly too high. I also want to move the coupling out, to increase the distance between the coaches slightly. I still need to complete the coaches, but I think that I have made a good start. Julie

Days when you can spend most of the day modelling are very rare. Julie

The 6 wheeled coaches that I have modelled were purchased by WH Austen, who took over the HF Stephens light railway undertaking after his dead in 1931. As with many Stephens enterprises the modification of the coaches for use on the railway was carried out in unorthodox manor. They started life on the LDCR railways as bogie coaches, which were sliced in two and the wheel arrangement changed. The photograph below shows the origionally a brake third coach, although by the date I am modelling it had become a brake second. The reason for so doing was the severe curves on the prototype and the weight restrictions over the very light track. The stone built bridges and the sheep creep were constructed as a result of a deal with the land owner to provide the land required for the railway for a nominal £1 on condition that all bridges were constructed on stone and a halt was provided for the use of said land owner and local residence this later became Clovelly Road. The line was operated by the LSWR and later the Southern Railway and then British Railways, although the infrastructure was owned independently until nationalisation in 1948. The photograph below shows how tight the fit between the coach and the bridge. This was true of the prototype and I have exentuated this on the model to make the layout appear larger than it is. A mixted train approaches Clovelly Road from the junction. They need further work to make them correct, but at this point I simply want to prove that the techniques I have previously used in 4mm work in the smaller 2mm scale. I need for instance to change the fixed wheels to disk wheels, add couplings at the fixed end and modify the frames to match the bogie end. part 1 of the coaches story can be found at http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/blog/1849/entry-16890-clovelly-road-the-proof-of-the-pudding/ Julie

I've got a tried & tested method which I have used to build a rake of 6 wheeled coaches in 4mm finescale. The only question is will it work in 2mm too. The proof of the pudding is in the eating! Julie

The prototype had a passenger service, and this was operated using 6 wheel coaches until the introduction of bubble cars in the early 1960's. These run until the line was closed as part of the Beeching process. Therefore I need to produce a coach that looks the part and can negotiate the 120mm radius curves into the fiddleyard. Julie

As my grandmother use to say, "The proof of the pudding is in the eating". After I solved a small problem with a short on the point crossing I managed to back the train complete with guards van into the goods yard siding, without having a derailment. I then reversed the locomotive and drove the train out onto the running line, again without any derailment. So I can now both pull and push the guards van around a 120mm radius curves without problems. This is made easier because I have a pulse type controller which gives excellent slow running, without the need for anything more than insuring that the track is clean. The locomotive as you can see from the photographs is a Farish 04 which has very small wheels and a short wheelbase. I didn't need to rub the wheels with graphite, as mentions in Dad-1's blog entry – Acceptable slow running. Where he described how he improved the running of a loco based on a tenshodo spud. I'm using a Bachman DCC controller becuase this is the only one that I own. Curenty I am using it in DC mode, i.e. by selecting loco 10, but I will chip the locomotive soon. Julie

This is real relief to get the train to be able to negotiate the fiddleyard curve without a derailment! Previously the couplings on the brake van were fixed and I was depending on the reduced length to enable the van to negotiate the curve. This reduced the drag as it went around the curve. Julie

I have now soldered the connections from the socket on the back edge of baseboard 2 to the power bus and linked the new track which links the scenic section to the fiddleyard, see photograph below. Before power was connected the wiring was checked out using the buzzer feature of my multimeter, to make sure that no shorts exist between North – black and South – red. I have now solved the problem of getting the guards van around the fiddleyard curve without it derailing. The solution was to improve the flexibility of the coupling. The previous chassis was produced by doing a cut and shut on the original Farish chassis. I have now replaced it with a 15 foot Peco chassis, which has been reduced in length using cut and shut to 10 foot length. The first photograph shows the train approaching the fiddleyard curve and the second shows the train about to leave it. Julie

It lasted until 05:30 approx. Julie