robertc

This corner will probably be the mining company's service area. cheers Bob

After some some time considering the possible track layout, I decided the raised mainlines that were intended for the HO or Sn42 were going to limit my options. Some measurements of the leftover ply sheets suggested I would be up for another sheet if I discarded the curved sections so I made a patchwork fill-in with much use of the jigsaw. Not ply enough leftover to start a fire! :>) I removed the raised spacer blocks in the process. My backdrop painting skills need work so I have been practising out in the garage when the weather is nice to me. I have had the railmotor circulating while all this is happening. Finally, its intermittent problems developed into a full time short in one of the Lima motor bogies. Quick fix was to remove the brushes and some of the gear train. It now runs sweetly again. :>) I am now looking at just how useful some of my aging home made track might be for this layout. Some of the code 100 point rails have been resoldered more than 3 times between S and O gauges. Thankfully they are all in O gauge at the moment! One surprise this morning was the discovery that my brass 49 class may well go around the tight curves of the indoor layout. If this proves physically OK it will be interesting to see when the scenery is in just how such a large item looks going around those curves. cheers Bob

Sounds good Chris, the fact that you are doing it from an onshore perspective will immediately set it apart from Ron's effort. cheers Bob

The sun is out, the wind has eased so some of the basic backscenes are in mass production. cheers Bob

Coal hopper coupler issue fixed for now with an extended coupler at one end of each wagon. Now there is a painless way to get a layout Martin. Hmmm... am I allowed to guess..... Lavender Bay, Bombo perhaps.?? cheers Bob

Perhaps it is only me Marty, but after years of teaching and competing with r/c aircraft, racing model cars and playing guitar in bands the process of shuffling a few trains about on my own doesn't challenge me for very long. But who knows I might get to like it one day :>) cheers Bob

I think I understand why many lifetime O gaugers when faced with severe downsizing simply abandon model railways rather than move to a smaller scale Chris. I'll see at some point if I can get some more play into the 18 class mech. The N67 will go around the inner curves I have found so that adds another one I can use. I was never in doubt the Lima 4F's would go around but they might look a bit big, once track is down all the way around I will see how they look. I now await the postman! Blow a dog off a chain here at the moment so no running trains outdoors today. regards Bob

I have decided to shoehorn the O gauge into the room. The HO just didn't look right any more and while the S gauge would have been perfect it meant having another scale to have to scratchbuild all the stock and structures for and while I have free time it is not unlimited :>) Two axle locos and short w/b stock are the order of the day to get around the tight curves. More track is on the way. Fortunately I have 2 locos that can be used, a railmotor and some 4 wheel stock. cheers Bob

Too wet outdoors so the indoor layout is getting some attention. Not sure on the scale to be used yet. 7mm is rather large for what I like to do and HO looks very small these days. There is another option but I have little left of of my S scale. Oh well, not life threatening choices....decision, decisions :>) cheers Bob

Very observant Chris, yes, that is the X200 on a section of track. The 79 and a B wagon were out of shot. :>) I was testing the water with O gauge. However it looked very restricted to me plus the 18 class won't get around the curves, neither will the 41. Short w/b two axle territory only, so railmotors, and a 73 would be the only other options. I have a HO circuit and will just observe for a time. It looks so tiny now after having larger scales for some years, not sure if I would be happy with it these days. I know the answer for this room but I disposed of most of that equipment when I moved to 7mm. :>( cheers Bob

Hi John, 8 cylinder 567C or CE. Here is a ref. if you would like to know more. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_49_class_locomotive They are very reliable units but were sadly just another example of govt pork barrelling and should never have been built. NSWGR already had competent light line diesels with the 48 class. . cheers Bob

Hi Chris, I am chewing it over at the moment. I have laid a HO loop around the room and am trying it out. It seems very small now after the time running larger scales. Here is a shot of one side of the room, the doorway has a lift section. I hate duckunders. regards Bob

Good thinking Chris, hopefully the 49 will become a reliable member of the team now. It reminds me I have one needing a lot of work to fix the lights still :>) Building an indoor layout at the moment so I can once again run trains when the great outdoors is not suitable, so not much else happening. Cheers Bob

Hi Steve, does the person responsible for the electrical side of this layout lurk here? It would be interesting to hear the challenges from a British perspective with DCC on such a complex layout. cheers Bob

Sunshine at last. In conditions I thought it would have been most at home with, the 4F struggles to make it up the grade this morning. cheers Bob

Hi Chris, I took this after the ice melted. Didn't take long for the rain to return unfortunately. -7C chill factor when I was taking the photos. I watched it run from inside the house :>) No snow yet, too wet. I must get started on the indoor layout so I can have somewhere to run when rain stops play outside, the 59 class might have to wait a little longer. regards Bob

Today I am test running my token British train. Battery radio controlled....Deltang. Sadly I can't convert these cheap 4F's into something NSWGR. So as we come across them, I will add more cheap wagons to the consist. Kadee's are really out of place and 3 links would be a nightmare so I am using Powerline HO 'dunny seat' couplers. Call them 'stick assisted' auto couplers... no chance of buffer lock backing down my access ramp and they are unobtrusive. regards Bob

I remember 3801 .... Congrats Chris... regards Bob

So how went the Exhibition weekend Chris? regards Bob

Not the best of days to be outdoors running trains, so some small projects that have been put off for some time are being attended to. First cab off the rank is the installation of the missing ventilators on my steel carriages. They are made from guitar string ferrules and Peco track nails. Not strictly correct but cheap and robust. Now to the next job. Fix a Kadee draft box that's moving about on one wagon. regards Bob

Coming up good Chris. Having built a couple in HO I am reminded just how much detail is needed inside the tank. regards Bob

This is the test vehicle for my intended battery/radio control system to be installed in a loco (not built yet) to be used on both my DCC system and a city club 3-rail layout. Soon to be vHunter Valley Mining's ex 4F. :>) regards Bob

Yes, you are correct, I'm getting forgetful. The wi-fi option would be a good alternative. Once you ditch the leads you will wonder why you ever put up with them. regards Bob

Looks good Chris. These new backdrops are tempting. I have always painted my own before. regards Bob

The bridge is a good addition Chris. The coalie adds some colour. Look forward to seeing the backscene installed. Gave the layout a birthday last weekend. The bird poo was getting too much so I decided it was time for an overall clean of the tracks. Been a couple of years since I cleaned it. Got carried away and gave the loco's a birthday too. Clean, adjust and replace some worn pickups, cleaned the wheels and oil and grease where required. regards Bob