milkman matt

We're all allowed a blonde moment every now and then.I realised only yesterday that I'd spelled my username incorrectly when I rejoined the forum........7 years ago!! I also realised only a couple of weeks ago that when I thought that I was adding new entries to my blog, I was only extending the original entry and it wasn't showing u as a new entry. Now it looks like an entry I made 2 years ago was only made 2 weeks ago. The beauty of Triang mechanisms is how easy they are to work on as you know. I usually doesn't take a degree in electronics to sort them out. The worst mechanism I have come across are the Lima locos. I have yet to work out how to get them open! Look forward to your next entry.

As I mentioned in my last update, I had a heart attack in January (21st) this year which not only slowed me down but also acted as a bit of a wake up call. You'd think 20 years of rescue work would have done that but, no, these things always happen to other people! It has been mentioned several times since that I am still young (turned 53 on Jan 4) and still have a fair few more trips around the sun to go. Prior to the heart attack, I had a bit of a tendency to being a "Gunna" and was always going to do this or that soon. Now I find I have a new impetus to get out and get more active with both the railway and a myriad of jobs that have been on the "Gunna" list. Of course, I have to take it a bit easy still but I feel changes are to be wrought this year. Now that I am getting back to something resembling normal health, I have started back on the baseboards again. Not rushing of course but making some steady progress. For the main part, the baseboards are in 4' x 2' sections although they will probably never be separated as I do not intend this to be an exhibition layout. The frames are made up of 42x19mm pine which will be held together with 5/16" "T" nuts and bolts. I managed to add another 8' of frame today which will have tops (12mm MDF) added over the weekend with any any luck. This means I now have a 16' section of "L" shaped board now finished and ready for whatever I decide to do next. I would like the next sections to be on open frame baseboards as they will eventually include a hill and upper level of track. The room itself measures 17' x 9' 4" and the railway will run around the edge of the room as previously mentioned. The plan I have Come up with in Any Rail is a Lower level tail chaser with a branch to an upper level. I know this is probably a bit ambitious for a first layout but, as I have said, I'm not in a hurry to complete it. I do have one quandary at the minute. The upper level will be on the short side of the cabinets which runs over my work desk and I was wondering at the possibility of putting a fiddle yard under the raised section as there would be about 7' x 1'6" of space available although I don't plan on making the raised section too high in order to minimise the slope. I would welcome thoughts and suggestions on this point. The completed section of Baseboard frames with the tops sitting on them. The section on the right is approximately 10' long and the other 6' long. These are the "T" nuts used to hold the boards together. Being in Australia, I got these from Bunnings but I assume that B&Q or someone similar will also have them. I initially started off drilling holes for wiring to run through but then realised that it would probably be more practical to get the Jig saw out and open them out to slots. I will be running this as a DC layout so I guess I should make a bit of room for wires! In this shot, you can see the initial holes I drilled for the wires at the far end and the slots in the frames nearer the camera. I may open the holes out but, I don't plan to have a lot of electrics in that area of the layout so I may just leave them as they are. The master plan for the railway as it stands at the minute. My work bench is located under the section at the bottom of this picture. The plan showing just the lower section. The yards at the top of this picture are on the lower section and then the branch rises to the station and yards which will be above my work desk. This is from an earlier plan as Any Rail wanted to mess me around and not let me hide the lower section. Still very much the same plan but with minor changes.

Thanks, Dave. The hotel is the Metcalfe coaching inn kit with a climbing rose added and lighting from the Woodland Scenics "Just Plug" range.

25/02/17 Ok, so this is turning into a bit of a saga now. After a bit of a slack period due to work commitments, home commitments, a rushed wedding in country Victoria followed by a repeat 2 months later and the passing of my father after a brief bout with cancer, I finally got started building some baseboards. I managed to get 2 done before I suffered a heart attack in January which meant no lifting any thing over 2kg for 6 weeks. However, I digress. Previous to all of this, I did manage to finish off the cabinets and get the floor down which has made quite a difference to the room. Whilst I have been on "Light duties", I have been able to make use of the custom built work desk which has stopped me going completely stir crazy while sidelined. Now that I am on the mend, I will be getting back into the baseboards again so, hopefully, I will at least be able to run a train before the end of the year. I know that sounds like a long time off but I haven't really set myself any timeline to complete the layout which means I don't have to stress about getting things done. After all, this is supposed to be a hobby to help me relax and de stress which is precisely what it has been doing for me while I'm under doctors orders to rest. Of course a railway room would be complete without a clock that makes railway sounds every hour. The certificates either side of the clock are service awards from my employer (15yr & 20yr) and from the voluntary emergency service I belong to (5, 10 15 and 20yrs) The custom made retractable work bench built by a neighbour who is a cabinet maker. I have a couple of design flaws I'd like him to sort (My fault) but otherwise, it's is perfect for me. Of course, sometimes I just enjoy the view from my workbench. Being restricted to light lifting and therefore having to put base boards on hold, I put my energies into some other projects. There are one or two items I need to fix but, I'm quite pleased with this even though it is only my second card kit.

2015 Wow! Is it really 4 years since I started this? Not sure what happened but things came to a halt for too long after the last entry. Now it is moving ahead again. I'm not going to make bold predictions this time. Just make entries as things happen. First up, I finally finished the walls and gave the interior a coat of paint. Next up came bases for the cabinets. It was at this point that we discovered thet the floor has a nasty slope into one corner which meant the the Bases at the far end had to be packed up by 40mm to bring them level with the nearest one. To minimise the gap under the base, I had to nail on a strip of 18mm x 18mm pine to it. I had trouble trying to work out what sort of cabinets I wanted and who I could get to build them until I hit on the idea of using IKEA kitchen base cabinets as I could buy them to suit my needs and build them myself. $2000 later and I have most of the cabinets I need for my room. There are still three more required to fill gaps but they will have to be bespoke units, one of which will include a work bench which I haven't quite worked out yet. I am thinking of a slide out type bench as the railway will be running across the top of the unit. Stay tuned and I'll get back to you. Hopefully it won't take another 4 years. There are more cabinets at the other end of the room but this should give the general idea.

Mine is a combination of my job as a dispatch clerk for a dairy company and my name (Mathew). Seemed appropriate at the time and still is as I am still in the same job 20 years on.

Some of my personal favourites. Summer sunrise 21/11/09 Post storm cloud 10/10/15 Summer sunset in North East Victoria 11/03/13

I've just discovered Woodland Scenics "Just Plug" lighting and want to know if anyone has had any experience with this product. I've treated myself to just a basic start up setup for now but I am seriously considering using it for my entire layout as it progresses. The whole principle is as simple as the description says and appeals to me because it doesn't need a degree in electronics or the ability to solder to light a railway or town. At the minute, they seem to have just two types of LED light but in multiple colours as well as a flashing red light but, according to their web site, they have plans to release street lights of various designs in the near future. For me, it is possibly one of the best things to come out in recent months but I will leave it to the masses to decide. Here is a video they have on You tube.

This sums it up nicely! ​

Some Action from the weekend. double headed "R" class locos on "The Snow Train" special through Gippsland. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4M6aPVdpqc Sorry about the shaky start but I had the cam on full zoom which always exacerbates even the slightest movement even thou the camera was on a small tripod sitting on a cement stanchion base.

You'd think that people would have had enough of silly love songs!

I sent him a message. The reply I got was that the decimal point was in the wrong place and the price should be 128 pounds. Slightly more realistic for this model in this condition. I have dealt with this seller before and he is quite good with his items.

Surprisingly, he has a maroon switcher (Much harder to find) for sale at about a third of that price. I've asked the seller if this is a typo.

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VERY-RARE-TRIANG-R353-TR-YELLOW-WASP-STRIPES-0-4-0-YARD-SWITCHER-HEAD-LAMP-/371012889905?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item5662176d31 Here I was, enjoying my coffee.......now it's all over my keyboard!!

until he get's you to the other side. (Chris De burgh, Don't pay the ferryman.)

If you press CRTL, ALT and the down arrow, that should fix it!

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/VERY-RARE-SEALED-MINT-BOXED-TRIANG-Hornby-R553-NEILSON-CALEDONIAN-4-2-2-SINGLE-/370949685978?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item565e5302da A few too many zeros?? For that price, I think I'd be able to commission one!!

More photos of the Thistlegorm and its load including what was left of the loco. http://www.flickriver.com/photos/tags/thistlegorm/interesting/

Victorian Railways "R" Class locos built by North British in 1951. Just in time to be quickly displaced by incoming Diesel electrics.

Here are a couple of my efforts from the Steamrail "Snow Train" on Sunday 21/07/13. Running about 2hrs behind schedule due to signal failure.

I saw you crying in the chapel.

Here's an Antipodean take on the 08. We imported them to Victoria, painted them blue and gold and called them F class. Sorry about the poor photo but the preservation center was closed and I took the photo through the gate.

From Glow-balls to low-balls..... Doug To no balls !!

Saw this fella in Italy in March this year.