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cooley_boy

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  1. cooley_boy
    As per usual life will through unexpected things in your way what has meant progress on some of the modelling project has slowed down. However, The carriages are getting there with the first 2 more or let done and another 2 just needed the detail to be painted on the bogies.
     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     
    I am now working on finishing the TSO Mk2 Carriage (Bachmann) and the 2x TSO Mk1 Carriages (Hornby).
  2. cooley_boy
    Well now there are 5 of these wagons finished and ready to roll even with removable loads. No I know there are a few details that are not fully true to life but all in all these do capture the look of these wagons in my view. No just to finish off the last 10.
     

     

     

     

     

  3. cooley_boy
    So I have been Adding some of the EOT lamps from DCCconcetps onto some of my wagons. These fit onto the wagons pretty easily coming with spring pick-ups, wire, lamps, flashing device and a reed switch with magnets in case you wanted have a automatic switch on the layout that turns the lamp on and off. I see no need for the reed switch as in real life the lamp is always and on the train.
    Having said that these lamps look pretty prototypical when installed and have a nice flash rate when running along. I have installed the wiring in the container in this example which is a IKA flat with 48' container permanently mounted on the wagon. I have also fitted these lamps onto a MEA, FEA and FLA wagons.
     

     

  5. cooley_boy

    Shap

    By cooley_boy,

    So here we go.
     
    For a while now I have been wanting to build a layout and have so far built 3 layouts which have since either been sold or dismantled into other projects. In previous layouts I have been a bit free lance in my design moving into a layout based off a location but not true to prototype. So now I am looking at modelling a location as true to prototype as possible space willing. In doing so the search was on for a layout that can be used for both 1960 operations and current day which narrows the field down a bit but the challenge was to find a place that has not really changed much since the 60s so anything near a city was more-or-less out.
     
    I therefore moved into the country side and into the LMS region which is where I personally think the best trains were made (ducks for cover) and where some of the most gruelling and dramatic scenery is located. This is certainly true of the S & C but this have been modelled to death and wanting to look into an area where not much has been done in recent years I looked into the West Coast Mainline between Preston and Carlisle.
     
    Here we have 2 major Climbs being Grayrigg and Shap both of which are gruelling grades which in steam days required helpers which would be a very neat thing to replicate in operation which with DCC will be very easy to achieve. I have settled on Shap for no real reason other than for several reasons:
     
    1- Shap is more open in its landscape and will be in my opinion be more dramatic to recreate.
     

    2- I have spent time around the Shap incline and know it better.
     
    3- Shap has less of a range of traffic than Grayrigg due to all the Stainmore traffic turning east at Tebay which means there will be less traffic to cover than Grayrigg which from a budget perspective is always a good thing.
     
    Having said that last point though there is still a huge amount of traffic on this line:
     
    1960's Highlights:
     
    The Royal Scot
    The Mid-day Scot
    The Night Scot
    The Caledonian
    The Lakes Express
    All Freight Traffic
     
    Duchess's
    Princess's
    Britannia's
    Royal Scots
    Black Fives
    8Fs
    9Fs
    ETC
     
    Current Day Highlights:
     
    The Caledonian Sleeper
    Tesco Train
    Virgin Pendalino's
    Virgin Super Voyagers
    All Container Traffic
    All Engineering Traffic
    Colas Timber Traffic
    Flyash Traffic
    Coal from Ayrshire to Wales
    Class 66, 68, 88, 57, 92, 90, 86, 60
    Colas
    DRS
    EWS/DB
    Frieghtliner
    Network Rail
    WCRC Excursion Trains
     
    All in all a lot to model and consider.
     
    I have already accumulated a fair bit of rolling stock in regards to both settings for this layout and as I don't have the space at this time to built the layout I am focusing on getting all the rolling stock ready and running this in at the local club. So what is to follow will be a series of works in regards to the rolling stock and locomotives.
     
    Regards
    Rand
  6. cooley_boy
    I saw this load and it looked like a simple thing to recreate.
     
    The load is made using 0.2mm Thick Styrene sheet cut into strips 26mm wide and cut to varying lengths depending on the prototype.
    These are then sprayed a gun metal grey and then using a nice reddy brown paint the rusting is made. The trick is to put the paint on the brush then wipe it all off. Then lightly go over the 'steel' and this will prevent over painting them.
     
    The wooden supports are made from scale cut basswood timber made by Midwest Products. They are cut to a width of 30mm and painted with a mid brown and wiped with a cloth and then painted with a beige then wiped again to give a nice aged look.
     
    The straps are black electrical tape cut into thin strips with a very sharp knife and steel ruler. These are laid over the load after and glued to the under side of the car / wagon.
  8. cooley_boy
    So as promised here is my work so far on scratch building my KFA units from Heljan cargowaggons.
    I have made all the uprights for one car and modified the top of the cargowaggon getting rid of the timber layer and replacing it with a smooth sheet of 0.5mm styrene that has been sprayed rusty brown to simulate the steel plate surface that seems to have replaced the timber judging by photo research.
    I have made one Bulkhead end but will be looking into seeing if I can get part of them 3D printed to save time and help with consistency.
    Rand
  10. cooley_boy
    Another Aspect of my Operation SD70 project is adding details to the Athearn units I have from the earlier runs which were lack a bit in the detail department particularly around the under frame and the front and rear ends.
    The first part that I do is to get the detail pack from Details West that are bespoke for the SD70M units with white metal parts for the under frame. This includes the piping for the sanders, bell, brackets for the fuel tank, jack mounting points, release values for the fuel tank, electrical cabling looms, spare knuckle coupler parts, etc.

    Below are the photos of how these look when all in place.











    Next is to put on a new plough and adding the air hoses and MU cable. Also adding the new standard Yellow sills to the walkways.
  11. cooley_boy
    Another Aspect of my Operation SD70 project is adding details to the Athearn units I have from the earlier runs which were lack a bit in the detail department particularly around the under frame and the front and rear ends.
    The first part that I do is to get the detail pack from Details West that are bespoke for the SD70M units with white metal parts for the under frame. This includes the piping for the sanders, bell, brackets for the fuel tank, jack mounting points, release values for the fuel tank, electrical cabling looms, spare knuckle coupler parts, etc.
     
    Below are the photos of how these look when all in place.
     

     

     

     

     

     
    Next is to put on a new plough and adding the air hoses and MU cable. Also adding the new standard Yellow sills to the walkways.
  12. cooley_boy
    Operation SD70 is a go!!!
    I currently have 6 of these iconic US locomotives and with UP owning in the region of 1200 of these locos I could just just keep going but the wallet says other wise.

    Either way I am now in the process of getting all of these harmonised with the same Tsunami2 sound decoders, LED upgraded lighting with a new Technique and weathered.

    Currently all of them now have the decoders installed and speakers fitted using a 52 x 16 speaker mounted in the space above the decoder. in the hood.

    They are now all fitted with the LEDs par one but here are some pictures of the process.

    I first start by removing the factory fitted bulbs or previous retro fitted LEDs and then slightly widen the holes to 1.5mm using an appropriate 1.5mm drill bit and using a slow speed on my dremel. I do this with care so as not to over drill the holes.





    I then take my 1.5mm thick Fibre Optic and cut a length of about 15mm or 1/2" and then I bevel one end of the fibre by slowly waving it close to the tip of a hot soldering iron allowing the heat from the iron to soften the end of the fibre. The fibre will naturally form into a lens like curve which will form the detail end of the fibre looking like the lens of the headlight.





    The next step is to feed the fibre into the hole for the headlight pushing it all the way down so that the bevelled end of the fibre sits in the headlight surround. Sometimes the bevel is a little too wide and will not sit down fully. In this case I just sand down the side of the fibre around the bevel edge by using a fine file and pushing the fibre along it and turning in the reverse direction.





    Now on the inside of the loco I place a little plastic cement glue where the fibre exits the loco shell to secure them in place. I then cut a length of 2mm heat shrink about 20mm long and slip this onto each of the fibre lengths and leave for the moment.



    Next I take my LEDs which I get from Evans Designs in the US. I use his because the color grade between all the LEDs is very uniform which is a issue I have had with other LEDs. They also come pre-wired and with resistor wired in. The other handing thing is that the wire that he uses is a single strand wire which is form-able and makes installing them handy.
    I take the LED and using thin pliers carefully put the LED at a right-angle the the wire and then feed the LED into the heat shrink around the fibre all the way till it is up against the fibre fully. Using the tip of the soldering iron (also holding the LEDs in place with my hand on the feeder wires) shrink the heat shrink down and this locks the LED to the fibre and holds everything in place. When the heat shrink is still warm I just with my finger or the tip of a flat-head screw driver push down on it where the wires leave the heat shrink and this help lock it all in.





    Here are some shots of the final result. The LEDs are pretty bright here and I turn them down a tad.





    Next stop is the weathering......
  13. cooley_boy
    Operation SD70 is a go!!!
    I currently have 6 of these iconic US locomotives and with UP owning in the region of 1200 of these locos I could just just keep going but the wallet says other wise.
     
    Either way I am now in the process of getting all of these harmonised with the same Tsunami2 sound decoders, LED upgraded lighting with a new Technique and weathered.
     
    Currently all of them now have the decoders installed and speakers fitted using a 52 x 16 speaker mounted in the space above the decoder. in the hood.
     
    They are now all fitted with the LEDs par one but here are some pictures of the process.
     
    I first start by removing the factory fitted bulbs or previous retro fitted LEDs and then slightly widen the holes to 1.5mm using an appropriate 1.5mm drill bit and using a slow speed on my dremel. I do this with care so as not to over drill the holes.
     

     

     
    I then take my 1.5mm thick Fibre Optic and cut a length of about 15mm or 1/2" and then I bevel one end of the fibre by slowly waving it close to the tip of a hot soldering iron allowing the heat from the iron to soften the end of the fibre. The fibre will naturally form into a lens like curve which will form the detail end of the fibre looking like the lens of the headlight.
     

     

     
    The next step is to feed the fibre into the hole for the headlight pushing it all the way down so that the bevelled end of the fibre sits in the headlight surround. Sometimes the bevel is a little too wide and will not sit down fully. In this case I just sand down the side of the fibre around the bevel edge by using a fine file and pushing the fibre along it and turning in the reverse direction.
     

     

     
    Now on the inside of the loco I place a little plastic cement glue where the fibre exits the loco shell to secure them in place. I then cut a length of 2mm heat shrink about 20mm long and slip this onto each of the fibre lengths and leave for the moment.
     

     
    Next I take my LEDs which I get from Evans Designs in the US. I use his because the color grade between all the LEDs is very uniform which is a issue I have had with other LEDs. They also come pre-wired and with resistor wired in. The other handing thing is that the wire that he uses is a single strand wire which is form-able and makes installing them handy.
    I take the LED and using thin pliers carefully put the LED at a right-angle the the wire and then feed the LED into the heat shrink around the fibre all the way till it is up against the fibre fully. Using the tip of the soldering iron (also holding the LEDs in place with my hand on the feeder wires) shrink the heat shrink down and this locks the LED to the fibre and holds everything in place. When the heat shrink is still warm I just with my finger or the tip of a flat-head screw driver push down on it where the wires leave the heat shrink and this help lock it all in.
     

     

     
    Here are some shots of the final result. The LEDs are pretty bright here and I turn them down a tad.
     

     

     
    Next stop is the weathering......
  15. cooley_boy
    With all the KFA wagons now finally weathered it is time to make a start on the Timber loads.

    Now near where I live there is a tree species of which the bark on it branches, particularly on the outer ends, looks like pine bark.
    So I went out and found one with some dead branches on it. Collecting the dead branches are far easier and doesn't hurt the tree.

    I then break off all the parts that I want with twigs ranging from 2mm - 5mm in diameter with straight sections on them to be cut out and recreate logs of 6" to 15" in scale.

    First step is to cut them to length and then stack them. I will glue them together later and them seal them.
    I will be looking at staining them slightly just the darken the bark a bit to look more like pine.






  16. cooley_boy
    So I have a client come to me asking for sound and lights to be installed into a Broadway Limited Trackmobile unit. If you have ever seem on of these units or own one you can imagine the challenge. Either way here it is all finished.





    Here is a post of the video:
    https://www.facebook...15033893029743/
  19. cooley_boy
    Next thing on the books is to put sound and lights onto my two Patriot 4-6-0 class locomotives.

    I have Hornby 45528 - R.E.M.E. and 45531 - Sir Frederick Harrison which I will also rename to 45521 - Rhyl and 45532 - Illustrious respectively.



    First Thing I do whenever I do an install is to completely disassemble the loco and remove all unwanted wiring as I always hardwire the decoders into my locos to ensure a solid connection. This also removes the change of the PCB failing on me and removes joints that could fail down the line.



    I will generally work on the part where the decoder will not be located first as this part is fairly straight forward to do. In this case the tenders are where the speakers are going to be located and so I removed the weight and cut out a section of the coal bunker to allow for a larger speaker and creates a bit more air space for the sound to reverberate.







    I will then cut the power wires where they attached the the contacts at the front end of the tender and will drill a hole to allow the wires to be feed through and out the underside of the tender and eventually up and into the locomotive.



    Having done the modifications I will add Lead stripes around the internal sides of the tender body shell to replace the weight that was removed and will act as sound absorption stopping the body from rattling when the sound is on. This make the sound clearer and boomier.



    Once done I will place the speaker on the chassis and attach black extension wires to it feeding them out of the hole made earlier and I will also do the same with the pick up wires making sure to note which is right and left. I will also now put a piece of card in the coal bunker and glue in place to fill the hole made to fit the speaker. Later I will paint over this and place a coal load on top making it so no one but I shall know any better. Then I re-assemble the tender and that part is done. One thing to note is that removing the factory weight means I loose my locking point for the rear part of the tender body shell. I cut off the internal clip and when I place the shell back on I place a couple drops of plastic cement and this holds the shell on nicely.

    Now on to the front part of the locomotive.

    Here I am placing working loco lamps from DCCconcepts which I have always used and fine them brilliant. Fiddly yes so if you have unsteady hands get someone who does to do this part for you.
    I first make sure to spray the lamps before installing them. I am using black lamps so I spray them a flat black to color them a bit and prevent any light leakage.



    I then drill the holes for the lamp wires to go through. I will do this a couple of millimetres from the lamp bracket and them feed the wires through and glue the lamps in place. I also tie the wires off around the buffers to help hold the lamps in position while the glue is drying.



    Once set I will now run the wires under the locomotive shell and into the boiler where the decoder will be. I do this by cutting channels with a dremmel and engraving bit. I will then use plastic cement and glue the wires down into the channels bit by bit ensuring to keep tension on the wire until it sets. Running the wires this way will make sure that they do not get crimped or in any way damaged when the shell is placed back on to the chassis. also if you braid the wires they are a lot easier to run and it keeps everything neater.





    After all this we locate the decoder on the place where the 8 pin socket was and remove the lugs. Then place the decoder on a piece of double sided foam mounting strip.



    Next job now is to run the wires to the motor and connect all the track power wires along with the speaker wires from the tender. The Purple, Yellow and Green wires get isolated and put to one side leaving the Blue and White for the front lights. I put these into one end of a plug along with a 1k resistor on the Blue wire and then attach the wires from the lamps on the other end making sure to match the positive and negative ends correctly. The plug allows me to disconnect the body from the chassis in case I need to get into the locomotive for servicing later on.
    Last thing is to tidy of the wiring and get the shell back on and test.





    Next step is the renaming and weathering.

    But before I weather them I will be adding sound into my newly arrived Duchess!!!
  20. cooley_boy
    Before I get to building the layout I am going through all my rolling stock and getting the Sound / Lights correct and everything weathered.

    Current project is just finishing of my Atlas Dash-8 32BW in Amtrak Phase 5 Livery. Not an easy model to get.

    Here we are prior to adding the paint having first masked all the windows and lights.







    And now with all the weathering.






  23. cooley_boy
    On a side note I updated the tower case for my computer and this left me with a spare tower with no real use. Then I had a thought, which is dangerous I'll admit, about converting the tower for a new use. Up to date I have been doing all my weathering outside as I didn't have a way of venting the fumes outside from indoors. I didn't have the space or cash to buy or make a spray booth for my weathering projects. Now that I am going to be doing this more often I wanted to move this inside so I wouldn't be at the mercy of the prevailing weather of the day.
    With this back story I looked at the computer tower I had spare and had the idea of converting this into a spray booth. It has 4 sides, a top and a base. I have removed one side panel which will be the access side and removed the front aesthetic panel to have access to the front grill which is where I have attached a 200mm extraction fan. I then lined the sides with canvas to absorb any off spray and placed a nice bit of timber in the base to spray on. All I need now is to find a lazy Susan.
     

     

     

  25. cooley_boy
    So this weekend I had a slight opening weather-wise and as such took the opportunity to paint the coaches I have set aside for my WCRC excursion train. It took a bit to get the color right but I think I got pretty close. This week I will be starting to apply all the decals which I go from Railtec.

    These have all been stripped using IPA in a Spaghetti Container which doubles nicely as an overnight bath for the Coaches. Using a tooth brush I scrubbed off the paint and decals and then using a 1200 fine wet N dry just smoothed the surface before painting.

    All up there will be 11 coaches all up in the following Running Numbers:

    BSK Mk1 80217
    BCK Mk1 99304
    TSO Mk1 5032
    TSO Mk1 4940
    RMB Mk1 1860
    TSO Mk2 5237
    Pullman Mk1 99350
    Maroon Pullman Mk1 Julia
    Pullman Mk1 Alexandria
    SK Mk1 99722
    Pullman Mk1 Diana




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