Philou

Our pipes are supposed to be brazed (or seeing as we're in France 'braised' - mmmm), as in our village it's very ferrigineuse - full of iron that reacts with the soft solder. I use a form of silver solder that seems to have held good to date. You can leave a glass of water out for a couple of days and it will cloud and eventually turn a nasty rust colour. We don't drink it!! Today was a day of progress and Mrs Philou took pity on me and let me work indoors. I screwed and glued the first set of blocks onto the stringers - so one pair of stringers are now ready to take the risers and treads - I haven't quite worked out how to do that yet. I may sub-assemble a tread to a riser and then screw the pair to the blocks on one side and so on and then present the other stringer to the now bigger sub-assembly. All I do know is that it will be heavy! As Mrs Philou was still being sympathetic I was able to then bring the longer stringers in and mark them out too. To these I can then screw and glue the remaining blocks tomorrow. Steady as she goes. Cheers everyone, Philip

Hello chums, it's me again, Sunday was definitely a 'meh' day. My get up and go had gotten up and gone without me. It was snowing - not a lot - but the typical UK sort of 'it's the wrong snow' - wet and sticky. As the temperature was positive I knew it wouldn't settle but it just didn't encourage me in any way to go out of doors and into the barn. I did a bit of this and that around the house and a bit of train porn - RMWeb and RM that had arrived earlier in the week. Today, Mrs Philou had her evil way of me and we went to town to get a length of pipe for our new wood-burner and an adapter between it and the existing pipework. They had some of the right size on Thursday but none today as I picked up the wrong ones initially. Now I'm going to have a whinge about French pipework - so some may wish to avert their eyes and skip the next paragraph: The French have as many pipes as they have cheeses - in fact so many that when De Gaulle came to power in 1958 he was said to have said 'How can you govern a country that has 300 cheeses!' Well consider this: In copperwork if you go to Castorama (which is part of the B&Q group) you can buy 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, and 24mm copper but not 15mm. You can also buy in brass and iron threaded elbows and connectors in 3/8", 1/2" and 5/8" sizes that will thread directly to UK BSP threads but you can't use 15mm olives. Now, when I went to get my bit of black enamelled steel tube for the burner outlet I was faced with the choice of 100, 110, 125, 130, 139, 150 and 180mm tube. I picked up 130 and I actually needed 139 which is apparently not stocked everywhere - bit of a bar steward size as I have found out. I did come back with a garden hand pressurised spray. Mrs Philou was miffed as she seemed to think it was too much at €60. The last one I bought over 10 years ago was well over £20 in B&Q! I needed one to treat all the new wood work that I'm putting in place and this one is toxic substance resistant. What's more, I shall need it annually for the decking - so ya boo. It was mighty cold in the barn, something I shall have to keep an eye upon when the room is ready, but I did do some wood working in the afternoon by marking out some of the stringers ready to take the 'glue' blocks. The 'glue' blocks I drilled and countersunk ready for screwing onto the stringers tomorrow. I had to leave after a couple of hours as the cold floor was causing cramp in my toes despite two pairs of woollen socks! Anyway a couple of photos: My treads and risers that I cut a few days ago: One of the resident engineers inspecting my box full of glue blocks: Marking out of the stringers. A drawing office set-square can be very useful. The adjustable square is set at 42°: The 'glue' blocks set up in a temporary jig - didn't half make it easier and quicker for drilling and countersinking. I had to remind myself a few times that though they are identical in shape, they are to be laid left-handed and right-handed hence the saw-tooth being different: One thing I have observed, is that the planed wood is still awfully wet despite seasoning in the dry for a fortnight. I just hope it won't shrink too much once laid out! Now that I'm underway, I mustn't lose the old mojo ...... Cheers everyone, Philip

Going to town didn't happen as we had a bit snow and it looked as if it was going to last - in the end it stopped after a short while and the sun came out - still cold though! I did some cutting of wood using the off-cuts that I had from ripping the planks yesterday ans pent the afternoon making what would have been called glue blocks to go behind the treads and risers. Mrs Philou's brother called yesterday and usually I don't listen much to him as for various reasons I think he's a fool, but for once I did take note when he mentioned that screwing horizontally into the treads could make them split. I decided I would do 'glue' blocks screwed to the rails and then screw vertically down through the treads into them. I can also screw the risers into them as well. Better be over-engineered than not enough. The proper way of course would have been to rout the shape of each tread and riser in the stringers and work from there. I'm lucky if I can cut anything square-ish let alone be left in charge of a router! Tomorrow's foray will be to mark out each tread and riser on the stringers and then start screwing the blocks in place - joy. Speak again soon, Philip

Well, despite the sleet and the low temperature, I set myself up as best as possible in the barn and I managed to cut all my risers. I did find that the time saved using the chop saw wasn't much (marking out, sliding into place, adjusting a bit backwards then forwards (bit of 'left hand up a bit, down a bit' springs to mind) making sure the table was square (which it wasn't and it took some doing) etc., but it did save the effort sawing. All cut'n'ready to go tomorrow - though I think Mrs Philou has other plans drawn up to go to town . More tomorrow. Cheers, Philip

@JeffP I agree, when everything goes well it gives a certain buzz - and even if things are not quite as they should be, as long it's all going in the right direction ......... Before lunch I had cut all 20 treads and this afternoon I shall rip some of the planks to make the risers - this I should (for a value of 'should') completely do before nightfall (see below). Funny how things turn up - my daughter's MiL (in the post above) arrived with a newish chop saw. Took pity on me as she heard me hand-sawing away this morning and went to get my SiL's saw. What a good egg! Trouble was I was on tread No. 18 when she arrived . Still I can use it to do the risers - and it was a kind thought. Buqqer, just looked out the window and it's now sleeting !! Toodle pip - more tonight, Philip As a PS, I did the whole of the ground floor in oak T&G - all secret nailed, only 65m²! The barn floor will be simply screwed as its PSE and may be subject to shrinkage.

Hello chaps, I was up at 6:45 bouncing around just like Tigger - until I opened the shutters and found Mr Frost had passed by during the night - it was cold!! Anyway, a slow start to the day ensued with a warming cup or two of coffee and dawn broke with clear skies. Good-ho, thought I and went to attend to my ablutions at I was ready at 8:45 to be met with a heavy grey sky that looked decidedly snow-laden - it went downhill from there . My daughter's mother-in-law called in (she's moved into the village) needing a mobile phone problem that required the use of our land-line (there's no signal in the village and she hasn't a land-line, nor computer). Anyway, it was a worthwhile call to Orange as she was sorted, I having a sim card sent for a cascaded phone from Mrs Philou (I have refused until now to have one) that will cost €10 for a whole year - unlimited texts and 2hrs of calls p.m. It'll be €5 p.m. after a year which is fine as I don't have a use for a mobile (but will have when I go DCC). As a bonus - for free - we can have the latest gen WiFi booster to pass signals around the house as the walls are 500mm thick stone. Things were cheering up. I finally got out at 10:30 and set myself up with a heat wave of +2° , to then find that the chop saw was unusable as the safety guard was broken and there was no way my little pinkies were going anywhere near the rapidly spinning blade in order to move the guard up (wasn't possible to do it with the blade down). Well, out came the trusty saw and away I went. I cut 4 stringers in all, a pair for the main stairs leading into the new room and a shorter pair to get from the ground level to the mezzanine otherwise there would have been no access to the main stairs (doh!). I worked out that I could the 4 stringers and all my treads out of my 250mm wide planking and then 'sacrifice' three lengths of my 200mm wide planks to make the risers? These I need to rip down to a narrower width in any case. I shall have time as I do the floor to determine whether I need additional 200mm planks. No pictures today - it was too cold to hang about! Treads tomorrow and if time rip some planks for the risers. I doubt I'll have time to cut everything. I'll continue Saturday and then it's assembly of all the bits over the following days. More to follow. Cheers everyone, Philip

Why have I a big smile on my face? Because tomorrow is F - Day !!! The flooring has now been in stock for the last fortnight and time is up tomorrow. Someone has kindly lent me a chop saw though the blade is a tad small, I can still make reasonably accurate right angled cuts and finish them off by hand. On Monday, my builders' merchant drew up outside the house (I would have been a tad more surprised if he'd parked up in the house, mind) with 2 tonnes of all-in-one, which surprised me even more as I hadn't ordered any. 'Silly boy', he said. 'Got your 7 lengths of 250mm wide planking on board'. I now have my staircase material too - yay! The choice to make is whether to make my staircase first (which would facilitate access to the new floor area) or to start with the flooring. I think I should do the stairs first - it'll encourage me to 'get on with it'. I have the measurements and the drawing ready (all a bit theoretical due to my poor carpentry skills ). In other news, Mrs Philou bought me a cheapo belt sander from Lidl as my other one's belt drive packed-in - so it's chocks away tomorrow! Regular updates will now follow. Cheers, Philip

The club use a slitting disk on a cheap Lidl/Aldi Dremel type drill to form the sleeper shape after drilling out a starter hole at each end. You end up with what Phil (Harlequin) has shown on his photo except there is a solid web under each rail (very similar to what is under a piece of Peco track). You may choose have the web as the piece is stronger for it especially if you're going across boards diagonally - as Phil has shown. My method is similar to Phil's as I too used hardwood strip under the paxolin copper clad but these were screwed to board and the paxolin screwed to the strip. It happened to work that way for me as the hardwood was the same depth as my underlay. Here are a couple of photos: This is an end-on view showing the construction depth - plywood baseboard, hardwood strip and double sleeper width copper paxolin all screwed and then dressed with ballast and weathered. This was the main running line hence the beefed-up strip: This shows the treatment I did for the sidings/MPD yard. These are single sleeper width again screwed. There is only one used either side of the joint and when I get the layout started I shall use this latter method rather than the double width ones as it does look better aesthetically. However, where joints run diagonally across the boards then I shall use Phil's/the club's style: The main board joint is under a bridge as shown and in normal viewing conditions can't be seen anyway - the camera flash hides nothing! I looked elsewhere, but I haven't got a photo of the club style one - sorry. Cheers, Philip

Our club cut their own from copper clad paxolin board of about 30 - 40 mm length and cut to look like sleepering (left continuous under the rail). It looks just the same as a short length of Peco track as they shape it to suit their needs (straight or curved). Their method is to assemble the board, lay the track over the joint, mark and remove the necessary amount of plastic sleepering. The preformed copper clad is placed in position under the track and when happy screwed into place - not forgetting to make isolating cuts - and the track soldered to the copper clad. The track is then cut along the board joint. Electrical continuity is by DIN plugs. I did have photo but I can't locate it at the mo' - sorry. On my module (00), I just used one piece of paxolin of double sleeper width but the same length as a Peco sleeper (simple right angled joints - no curves) screwed and then soldered. Once ballasted and weathered, unless you look, I don't think you can readily see it - especially from 3' away! I'll take a photo later and post it up (someone is sleeping in the same room as the module as I write this). Cheers, Philip

Just caught up with this topic. The Trix searchlight signal must have gone through various iterations as the one I have has a base with two bulbs within it, but it's the bulbs themselves that are coloured with the light being transmitted to the head via a light tube. All in all, I found that the Trix stuff was quite well made despite scale differences, as the signal could be operated by a switch that could be linked via a bar to another one that operated a isolating section. The switches were of metal. The isolation section switch had a bulb in it (quite a big one if I recall) that would draw current through it and the train would come to a gradual stop rather than a dead stop (I'm not sure how it worked but it did). You had to be careful with the H/D 2-6-4T as it was so free running that the momentum (flywheel effect) of the motor would take it through the isolating section if at too high a speed on approach. I regret not having those switches now (still about somewhere but not here). Cheers, Philip

It arrived!!! Right on cue, just as the last of the nibbles were being munched and fizz was guzzled and yes everyone said 'we'll help' as they all buqqered off to lunch. In the end there wouldn't have been enough room in the barn for two to manoeuvre and it was just as quick for me to do it on my own. All 47 planks are now under cover and levelled. On advice I shall leave them at ground level for 8 days while they start to dry and after that, having borrowed a chop saw, I shall cut them to length and hoist them up in place, letting them rest for another few days and then fix them in place. One or two look as if they come from a banana tree but they'll straighten out using a chock or two and a sash cramp - nothing twisted though. In other news, I also have some decking delivered, so new stairs ahoy. Here we are, a photo of 52m² (approx) of flooring: I now have itchy fingers and want to get started. I'll just have to be patient . Cheers, Philip

As an add-on, I did manage to collect two trailer loads of logs (only a small trailer) and had them cut and piled-up before lunch - so pretty good going all round. Tomorrow is 11 o'clock 1 minutes silence at err 11 followed by a glass of fizz and nibbles for the whole village (I mean at least a glass each, not one between us all, c'mon this is France ) and then (fingers crossed) my wood will arrive. Now, if it's timed right, the whole village will be in the Mairie (which is next door) and when they see me and the enormous pile of wood, they might chip in and help take some into the barn. (They might not have any choice anyway as the last time he delivered, it was right across the Mairie's door!!!). Cheers, Philip

@The Stationmaster Mike, hi, and thanks for the finger crossing. Not only is it a 'bridge' (un pont) but it's 'un viaduc' (more than a three-day weekend). My builders' merchant is getting the flooring today and as he is going into the office tomorrow to do paperwork (not open to the public natch) and it suits him to do a delivery then, as Friday he's got another big delivery and couldn't guarantee me a time. As another SiL has arrived today with his very pregnant girlfriend (just hope there won't be any surprise delivery whilst they're here ), I can keep him busy tomorrow afternoon in getting the flooring in and heaved up onto the joists where I can let them stabilise. I shall update tomorrow to let you know what happens. Cheers, Philip

This morning I was going to write a whole chapter, nay, a tome of doom and despondency centring on the alas and alack and woe is me and how the French really need to up their game regarding timber supplies especially as there are millions of trees all around where I live. By this evening the storm clouds of gloom had been replaced by sunbeams and blue sky (no bunny wabbits or bluebirds though). My wood will be delivered Thursday from lunchtime onwards! Good egg is my builders' merchant especially as Thursday is bank holiday here. I'm also having some decking planks delivered as I need to make a set of stairs for our sun-deck - the existing ones being absolutely pants - well built but with totally wrong goings/risings (not me, guv. Built by a proper 'tradesman'). These stairs will keep me busy whilst my flooring is acclimatising to the barn over the following 10 days or so. Downside is that I have to get my huuuuge log cutting saw and trailer out of the barn and another two loads of logs tripped back from stock and sawn and the trailer and saw parked back in place before the flooring arrives. Wait for weeks in doldrums and then suddenly, all hands to the deck! Cheers , Philip

@Wayne Kinney If the trackwork falls under the 'toy' category (as are model railways), then no import duty is payable (at the moment), so good news there. On the other hand, I'm not sure that in France there is a threshold as in the UK under which a certain amount of business does not attract VAT. I think that it is the value of goods passing through customs (regardless of VAT or not UK end) will attract payable VAT here. We shall see! Thanks to @MartinWynne for the radius info. That to me is interesting as the Peco 'large' radius are supposed to be 5', but IIRC someone did a detailed measure of the points and they're not much greater than the medium at 3' in order to maintain the same 12° angle (though longer). 4' 3" radius will do me fine especially if they are slightly flexible. Now if you can do the same with the diamonds .......... Cheers, Philip

@Wayne Kinney Forgive me if this question has already been answered - I have read all the comments but it was some time ago - what are the approximate radii of your points, please? I'm sold on the idea especially as they can be curved a little which would mean that I don't have to stick rigidly (see what I did there) to the Peco F/B Finescale ones for all my pointwork - I can now mix'n'match. Another question, if I may? Would you export to France? I'm not too bothered about the deduction of VAT - I'll just take the hit, though if sent by RM, La Poste doesn't seem over bothered about VAT collection. Parcelforce/Colissimo do! Cheers, Philip

@The Stationmaster Goytre would lead me to think Thyroyd - hmmm. Llanover - yes Llanover Hall in Cardiff. I avoided Ewyas as 1) I can't get my tongue around it and 2) it's a tad close (physically) to Pontrilas. My Dymented was partially based on Dymock which of course was on the Gloucester branch. In your list I like the look of Allensmore as I can turn that into Allensbank - a road I know in Cardiff. Sort of neutral. Or indeed, why not Cwmfields? Cwmfie? Is that just being silly ? Rule 1 could apply. Cheers, Philip

I gave the name a little (for a value of little) thought yesterday and I did come up with a play on words. In and around Cardiff there are villages where Cardiffians took sport in mis-pronouncing the names - for example: Tony wine glass for Tongwynlais and Ribena for Rhiwbina. Well! There's a possibility of Rhiwbina instead of Dymented particularly as there is a (tenuous) link with a fruity blackcurrant drink. (There is a station at Rhiwbina on the City Line. It did also link directly with a station at Tongwynlais when part of the Cardiff Railway but that was stopped in the 50s.) Other thoughts regarding names with perhaps a Welsh Marches name would be gratefully accepted. Good news is that the truck is repaired and hopefully the beams will be gone tomorrow. Cheers, Philip

Mmmmm, @37Oban, jam and pickle, eh? Sounds good. Where Ledbury lays, it was right in the middle of a hop growing area - photographs exist of a hop-pickers train off-loading pickers during the Edwardian period (an excellent reason to use the Hornby and Hatton's 4 & 6 wheel generic coaches). More recently (at least when I lived there) it had become an area renowned for blackcurrant growing - foreign pickers would come for the season. There is no reason then not to have that at my Dymented - instead of hops, blackcurrants. It also gives reason to have train loads of wood arrive from Pontrilas (photo evidence of that) to supply heating fuel. In reality, I think the logs shown in the photos were used the other side of the tracks in the chemical works (which I intend to have as a low relief building) where naphtha and creosote were made. Cheers, Philip

Just a little update as I'm in the doldrums as no sign yet that my flooring is to be delivered anytime soon as apparently the width of boards at 250mm is 'non-standard'. Just give me 52m² in 200mm width then - no problem on my part just more lengths to lay - grumble grumble. I was hoping that at the rate I set off, I'd be home by Christmas - now where have I heard that before? In other news, I can't even do my winter wood as my huuuuuge log cutting circular saw and trailer within which to collect the logs are both hemmed in by the old beams (as shown above). They were to have been collected last week by the SiL but he bust the gear stick on his truck but it should be back on the road this weekend. However, not to be left dwiddling my thumbs, I did redraw a part of my plan as I wasn't happy with Dymented as it didn't have a raison d'être. What I did find was an old photo of Colwall station taken in the late 50's/early 60's showing a loco in steam waiting for the right-of-way with an early DMU with speed whiskers on approach. It wasn't that that took my interest, but an enormous rake of NPCC stock in the background. I couldn't work it out at first - then that light-bulb moment - Malvern Waters! I assume they're waiting to take on board crates of bottled water. I decided that a small scale version would do for me as the layout of Colwall had: double trackage through the station (check), approach either side by single line (check), a goods shed (check), a number of sidings (check) and a reason to attract traffic there (check). All I need now is a decent name for Dymented once I get the layout near-completed as I shan't use Colwall as the name as the reduced station size wouldn't do it justice nor shall I be using much NPCC stock - some other industry will do (maybe not dairy either!). Perhaps you chaps may have some thoughts on that? Here's the revised plan: Pontrilas (oop north), Ledbury (dahn south), and Dymented (out west). Signal boxes are missing together with their signals: Work is now in progress on a revised and less detailed 3D version. Cheers, Philip

I've used flooring underlay - the green stuff that I think is wood-fibre based. It's not kind to cutter blades but it's about right at 3mm to raise the track sufficiently to make the 'cess', a feature that is very often overlooked when modelling the track bed. In @Jack Benson 's case where a yard, or sidings, are modelled, then there would be no need. It's my understanding that it's when ballast is being glued with PVA (or any other glue) it's absorbed into the sub-base and forms a solid mass hence transferring the sound direct to the baseboards. The answer probably is preformed foam simply weathered and NO glue a la @ColinK. It comes down to just how much realism is desired against sound reduction. I did find that after 10 years in stock, my foam underlay (not Peco) crumbled to dust. Cheers, Philip

Also Brassmasters make windows to go in the Scalescenes card buildings. No connection - but I thought they looked quite good. Could they be adapted? Cheers, Philip

@Keegs If you wanted to go with the plan that Miss Prism 'flipped' for you, then look no further than Ledbury that had a headshunt as shown, albeit that in this instance the goods shed was on a line parallel to it. The station itself (it still exists) is where the bridge is on the plan, with the signal box at the end of the platform, between the down line and the storage sidings. Cheers, Philip

The man who might be able help you is @The Johnster as he has a 2721 and seems to know a lot. Cheers, Philip

Well, Friday came and went without any real definitely, all more maybe possibly arrival of wood Tuesday next week. Having nothing to do, I decided that I would pop over to the club as they were setting up some junior modules for this weekend's show - all open to the public today and tomorrow, for free. Light refreshments are available, though I think it'll be a bit far for the majority of you to come over. Here are a few photos of the modules being set up. There are over 30 of them and all created by the junior section (ages 12 - 16 yo). I thought the standard quite reasonable given the lack of materials that can be acquired locally. A fair number of the modules are still WIP (when is a layout ever really finished?). Unfortunately, I only had a small hand-held camera that didn't like the low light levels and so the flash has somewhat washed the colours out: The one thing I do like about the modules is that any module will fit with any other and the combination is endless. The downside is that there is a certain amount of discord scenery-wise and that a lot of the modules above are single track. Have a good weekend everyone, Cheers, Philip