gismorail

is that the new way of saying 'he's a lazy bl--dy git'

Oh that's OK then ...but just you wait till you get into the new home .....Dee's got a 'massive' list for you mate

His arms are hovering as his only just got there and he has just spoted that the top of the drum has a large puddle on it following the recent rain shower.

I'm enjoying your project on the old Lima tank, I can remember buying one of those from Waltons Model shop in Chester and it was the Bees Knees in my mind anyway. As you know I've been working on a couple of old Lima Siphons for Chumley End and it does amaze me how good the detail was considering how long ago they were produced. They certainly don't look out of place alongside today's models.

Thanks Andy it's amazing what happens when enforced isolation takes hold of ones life I have finally completed the Siphon H project and as I said earlier in the thread it's amazing what one can achieve with an old model which cost ten pounds at a local Model Railway Show years ago . Another old wagon to work this country branch towards the end of it's revenue earning life.

I'm still awaiting supplies as I'm sure are many others on this web site never mind can't complain considering the current situation. I have now managed to get a Kadee coupling on the Siphon H, unfortunately I have had to mount it on the bogie's like on the Replica Full Brake as there is simply no room to fit it on the body . I had thought that the Siphon H was a Lima model but having looked at the coupling it would appear to be the Airfix version and I've not be able to source a NEMS box conversation so once again the Dapol coupling has come to my rescue This shows how I have been able to adapt the Dapol coupling head to fit on the old Airfix coupling Block. Also the original plastic wheels have been replaced by a set of Hornby metal coach wheel sets. This is the coupling head before modification which involved drilling a hole just behind the tails of the removable head then cutting the original hole end down to fit on the Airfix coupling box. The above picture shows the final fixing with the slightly smaller hole that I drilled on the coupling head clipping over the Airfix coupling block you can just see how much I have cut down the original base plate. The final work from yesterday was a quick spray of the under-frame ready with Halfords Grey Primer so that I can weather this area tomorrow. I hope my ramblings with regard to the different ways to fit the Kadee couplings is of interest to the followers of this thread as there are so many permutations considering the many types of coupling mountings involved prior to the standards we see on today's models.

Good afternoon Rich I see that you are considering using a smoke generator to give an effect of chimney smoke. You would only need a cheap home use smoke generator to obtain the effect that you are looking for and yes plastic micro bore heating pipe would be just the job for distribution of the smoke ( I only used copper as I had some in stock at the time ) You would however need to have copper over the first part of the system as the nozzle on the smoke machine can get quite hot. I have somewhere a couple of articles in a magazine which I will try to find and I'll get back to you on this subject.

Managed to finish off the old Replica full brake yesterday so I'm back to awaiting supplies again though I'm sure I can fins something to do Unlike the Siphon G I did last week I have had to fit the Kadee couplings onto the bogies, which is not my preferred mounting point as I would rather locate it onto the body but there just isn't the room on the model. The bogies were fitted with the very large old tension lock coupling so I carefully cut away the loop part of the coupling and was able to glue a 'whisker' type Kadee As can be seen in the second photograph you can just make out the base plate of the old style coupling. I have also replaced the old plastic wheels with a set of the excellent Hornby metal coach wheels which will greatly improve the running quality. The roof and under-frame has had a coat of Matt black (33) mixed with Meta coat gunmetal and then I have added weathering powders to highlight area were rust and running dirty build up. Having carefully removed the window strips the body sides have been coated with track dirt wash and this was allowed to dry. Once dry I have soaked a cotton bud in white spirit and carefully rub in downward motion and the wash starts to dissolve but leaves deposits in all the nooks and crannies and the white spirit tends to dull the paintwork is in the real life situation. I might well search out some 'flush glazing' to improve the window fittings which would greatly enhance the general appearance.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDY

Thanks Andy for your kind comments .... no Welsh Cakes today but it has had 'Easter Eggs' for a short while Unfortunately no supplies for further work on stock have not appeared from the post office van this morning so this evening I dismantled a very old Replica full Brake in readiness for a good weathering and Kadee coupling fitting. All the components of the coach laid out and ready for work to begin, again like the Lima siphons considering how long ago they were made the detail is not bad especially the under frame. It's worth remembering that these can be bought second hand for well under £20 .....

No patent pending on this one Kevin ......I've learn't so much from your Little Muddle thread that I've now created a 'Greater Muddle ' so it would be the height of cheek to patent something The thing is though if you were to build yourself one you might have to adapt the layout name to 'Little Lesser Muddle ' On a more serious note the main reason for the 'Loco Servicing Bay' was to try and keep the wires from controls etc out of the way and have a 'designated' area in which to work on Models so that those little screws don't go bouncing onto the 'dog shelf' to be lost forever Best of luck with your new project ......we will expect to see reports back

Well I reckon our Australia friend is the nearest but for what I'm going to do on it I wouldn't want to be sitting in an armchair . And the final finished project It's a Locomotive servicing bench where I can service / program locomotives for both DCC and DC as controllers can be simply plugged into which ever track I wish to use. So many times when I'm building / modifying a locomotive or adding a sound chip and then programming the project I'm always struggling for space and organisation on the work bench and me being me things are precariously balanced in dangerous ways. When one considers the cost of even a 00 gauge locomotive I have for a while been considering building a 'Loco Service Bay' for home use but more importantly at exhibitions where space is limited. With this service area I can simply plug the controller into the various power points on the top left hand side to activate which ever service facility that is required. For the basic wheel and contact cleaning operation I have wired two lengths of rail to either side of a wooden dowel which are held together with insulation tape and lengths of brass wire are added to ends of the rail to make contact with the pick wheels on the loco. It is then easy to hold these in position with one hand and clean the wheels with a cotton bud or whatever with the other hand. I hope this has been of interest to others who like me struggle with organisation at the work bench I'm hoping some supplies might turn up with the post lady in the morning as it was all bills this morning I mean don't these people realise we are in the middle of a national emergency at the moment Take care all

A very busy day today not so much on the layout or photo plank as I'm awaiting supplies to arrive for the next stages. I keep looking at those embankments and still can't decide as to whether any trees need to be planted , been flicking through my Cheshire Lines Books and what tree's are present are mainly on the top edges. Mmmmmm think I'll sleep on that one for now. The main task today has been to have a really major tidy up of the railway room and workshop ....it's just become so cluttered I just can't STAND IT ANYMORE ....I seem to be spending most of my time looking for things !!!! why is our hobby such an untidy past time. Anyway from what I keep hearing from the radio DJ's on Planet Rock it's the 'in thing to do ' .....men tidying sheds during lock-down .... As is often the case while one is tidying up and some space appears that I didn't know I had ....I'd started another little project by mid after-noon ( what another one ) I'm not going to give the full details tonight....... but will show you all a photograph of the first stage and see if anyone can guess what it is ........Answers on a Post Card...

What a cracking video really enjoyed it an absorbing watch indeed. You must be very pleased with the outcome of your labours Sir a wonderful layout and an inspiration to us all Thank you for sharing

Thanks Kevin now that's praise indeed from the 'master' of scenery effects. The interesting point about the back-scene is that there is a hedge running along the base of the picture which I had at first thought would make a good 'end of scene' feature. However as is often the case once the static grass had been put into place I just wasn't happy with the transition between the two thus the fence was added and it's amazing the sense of depth that it has created.

Many thanks for the step by step guide on painting the decking on the Bolster wagon it is an inspiration Kevin

Good evening all, well it's amazing what a shower of rain does here in North Wales the grass has started to grow on the track side on the photo plank Yes I've been busy with the 'static grass' machine and so that the local farmer's cows don't wander onto the running line the local PW gang have dragged themselves out of the pub and have erected a line side fence.......through I'm not sure as to how straight some of those concrete posts are..... perhaps straight with drunken eye maybe So the first culprit for a photo session is the recently weathered G Siphon Still got to detail the stone work on the retaining wall and add a few bushes around the embankment areas and maybe a couple of telegraph poles. I was contemplating maybe adding a few trees to the scene but having looked at photographs from the early 1960's most embankments were kept fairly clear of large tree's due to the practice of regular scrub clearance. Maybe Network Rail should learn a lesson from the old days Following the earlier comment regarding the coupling sticking out a bit to far I have addressed the situation and cut the NEMS box down a touch and refitted the Kadee coupling. Another days in glorious enforced enjoyment .... opps self-isolation !!!!!

Further work has continued on the Lima Siphon G today now that the coat of BR maroon paint has dried and hardened over a twenty four hour period. It was my intention to apply this with a spray gun but due to the fact that I have run out of Tamiya masking tape I went ahead and very carefully hand painted it with a very slightly thinned down paint mix as I only wanted a light coat of paint with a slightly faded finish. The main task has been to fit the Kadee couplings to the Siphon G The main problem with these older bogie type stock items is the fact that the couplings were , and in many cases today models suffer for the same, fitted to the bogie frames which doesn't result in the best running qualities. So the first job was to carefully cut away the very old tension lock coupling and file down the bogie frame end to match the other end. I then got some plastic card sheet and cut it to the correct size to level up the chassis ends so that I could set a coupling base plate into the ends of the chassis. I mentioned in one of my earlier posts that I have discovered that the Dapol coupling carrier was well suitable as a good stable fixing for Kadee couplings. The above picture shows the Dapol product before modification / fitting On a Dapol wagon the floor has a moulding and fitting hole that the two parts fit onto so I have shaped a shim that does the same job . This is fitted and glued into the base fitting and the NEMS pocket fitting sits on top and and hole is carefully drilling through the skim and the base of the chassis. The whole assembly is screwed down and a number 17 Kadee is fitted and checked for the correct height etc. Note the pencil line I have marked on the plastic card base and this shows the furthest back that the assembly can be fitted without fouling the moving bogie frame. The Siphon G has now been reassembled following some Weathering of the freshly painted body work. The eagle eyed amongst you will note that the rather course Lima wheel sets are still in place but these will be replaced once I can get some replacements. A lot of these wagons were used for the Transportation of Dairy Produce so I feel this will be put to good use on Chumley End.

Yesterday my task was mainly to get the ballast on the Photo plank brushed into place and glued. I know there are many ways that different people tackle this 'discipline' I use this term for a reason as it's a laborious task. I have used Slaters N gauge grade ballast which is crashed down further and then spread into place using a paint brush yes it takes patience indeed. I use the normal UPVC glue mixture with a spot of washing up liquid and add an acrylic paint depending upon the location, in this case I added a touch of track colour and this mixture is carefully added to the ballast via a dropper so that the ballast is not disturb in the sleeper beds. It's waiting time now to allow the whole to dry out before any further work can be carried out . In the meantime I have sprayed the roofs of the two 'lost' siphons which are ready further upgrade work.

Morning Andy really enjoying your 'look back' series of layouts it must bring back many happy hours spent in TOPS and other areas of enjoyment . Wonderful

Morning Andy How's tricks ...yes you know how lovely it is up here at 'Gismo Tower's ... or should it be 'Faulty Towers' I do wonder sometimes. The Lockdown notice hadn't arrived at the time of our chat it arrived last Thursday ...it's Wales Andy it always work to least two weeks behind everyone else. Yes your right about the back-scene on the 'photo plank' I might have to do a cut and shunt on it yet

Good morning Trevor, Yes I'm a very lucky lad to live in such a wonderful spot it's just a shame it rains so much but that's why 'The Valley is so Green' With regard to the 'Ken Patterson way' I did make a well shaped train bed out of the insulation board be to be honest wasn't happy with the level / stability so I have used MDF supported on a crossbeam. (If anyone one is wondering what the Ken Patterson way is go onto youtube and type in 'Whats neat this week in Model Railroading' it's good and gives you an interesting look as to what the 'Yanks' are up too )

Well another wonderful day in ' Lockdown ' self isolation and it's a glorious sunny morning here in North Wales I reckon this is the best place to be in this very worrying time and these are a couple of shots from my front gate this morning ....splendid isolation I reckon even the sheep are keep social distancing Before I start on today's tasks here a quick update from yesterday. After a night under pressure the track has been sprayed with a base 'track colour' and is now ready for ballasting I made a bit of a discovery while I was looking for some scatter material yesterday and at the bottom of the box I found two old Lima Siphon wagons that I had forgotten about over the years. Both are in GWR livery, one is a Siphon G and the other is a Siphon H so I got a bit side tracked and decided to update them into BR livery with a few added details so that I can run them both on Chumley End Both have been stripped down and the bodies have received a coat of Halfords primer prior to a respray. Once the primer had been applied the amount of detail that is on these models becomes more obvious which is amazing when you consider how old these examples are ! I have applied Tamiya masking tape in readiness for a coat of dirty roof paint While the spray gun is loaded with some roof paint I have masked up a Bachmann 108 DMU which has just had a Zimo sound chip project from Digitrains and a pair of Hornby suburban coaches that will be running on the layout. So plenty to do today with ballasting track and spraying some roofs ...watch this space for the results

Jim your spot on with those memories ...only they are still true to today. I believe from what I've been told that there are still people who work in the Trailer factory that have learn't to drive ....how mad is that . Ackroyds Pyjama Factory is still going strong as every now and then the company I drive for (Williams Haulage ) get asked to take a load of finished product to one of the big super market RDC's . I believe though all the pyjama's are out-sourced from the far east and it's just one big packing factory now !!! The other more recent big employer in Bala is the 'Cake Crew' where they make 'cup cakes' for all the major supermarkets which Williams Haulage do all the logistics for ..... every day we take a Double Decker trailer with 52 pallets on board .......now that's one big 'Sugar Rush' ......

You too remember those 'massive' columns that one used have to look around to see a layout in the Assembly Rooms and the sear elegance of the De Grey Rooms with it's sweeping staircase ........ oh those were the days. There was something so special about the show in those days which often involved a trip around the Minister and the fledgling National Railway Museum Wonderful