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Silver Sidelines

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Blog Entries posted by Silver Sidelines

  1. Silver Sidelines
    Ten days of continuous sunshine - must be a record for the west of Scotland. However the rains have set in again so back to normal and time for another platform update.
     

     
    In my previous Blog entries I touched upon basic platform construction and gave some pointers as to the sizes of paving stones. This entry contains some reminders on techniques for marking out the paving.
     

     
    Work commenced with a nice simple island platform with 'parallel' sides. First I marked out two lines with a steel straight edge parallel with the platform edges to delineate the edge paving. Then using a woodworkers set square pressed against the platform edge I marked out all the edge paving. The edge stones were nominally 4ft by 3ft (16 x 12 mm) - obviously 'flag stones' from the north of England. With the edges complete attention was then focused on the internal paving. Again it was a straightforward exercise pressing the set square against the platform edge and scribing parallel lines across the platforms. This internal paving was nominally 3ft by 2ft (12 x 8 mm) but because I was representing natural stone I introduced a few random courses where the spacing was increased to 30 inches or decreased to 18 inches (10 or 6 mm). Finally the individual stones were marked out using a long straight edge held parallel with the platform edges. This way a number of individual stones could be marked out at the same time using a system of 'mark one miss one'.
     

     
    My next station had all curved platforms and the woodworkers set square was not appropriate. I think I must have given my flexi curve to one of our daughters for a school project and the curved lines delineating the edge paving had to be made up from a series of short straight lines. The individual edge stones were then marked off using the right angle end of a short steel rule held tightly against the curved platform edge.
     
    My station buildings were positioned in the middle of the platform where it was widest. Hence I made the decision to start the internal paving from the midpoint of the platform.
     

     
    To mark out the internal paving I used a couple of Perspex set squares from out of my drawing instrument box. Holding one set square firmly against the initial line it is relatively straightforward to add a series of parallel lines simply by running the second setsquare up and down against the first. Because of the length of platform involved the set squares had to be repositioned and care needs to be taken to ensure that the resulting lines all stay parallel.
     

     
    Towards the ends of the platform the angle of paving was in my opinion too acute. After viewing various prototype paving layouts I decided to introduce a section of 'concrete infill' bounded by some paving courses parallel with the platform edge. Historically it appears that the less used portions of platform were left unpaved and surfaced with cinders only to be covered over with asphalt or concrete when passenger numbers increased.
     

     
    Finally a picture of the platform with the buildings reinstated - for the moment a mix of Scenecraft and Skaledale.
  2. Silver Sidelines
    This week I am sharing some thoughts on the excellent kit from Mike's Models for the ex GWR Medium Yard Crane.
     

     
    I had a full set of instructions for constructing the crane but there was no mention of how to model a base for the crane. A Google Search highlighted a couple of results in this Parish but both acknowledged that the cranes had been assembled without instructions. There was a suggestion that the base should be circular.
     
    A search of my own books showed that the cranes at Lamborne and Tetbury had what looked like circular brick bases infilled with concrete. The brickwork for the Tetbury crane also had a circular steel band to hold the brickwork in place.
     

     
    My first attempt was to use two circles cut from 5mm thick balsa wood:
     

     
    Besides being rather untidy, my attempts at scaling from photographs was obviously wrong and these 40mm (10ft) diameter plinths were too small. Even when used for the little GEM crane there was nowhere for the 'operator' to stand.
     

     
    Reinterpretation of various photographs suggested that a plinth 60mm (15ft) might be a more suitable size. Instead of balsa wood I made up a 8mm (2ft) sandwich of thin corrugated card.
     

     
    Wives can be very useful and whilst searching the web for craft ideas my wife had come across the web site http://incompetech.com which offers a range of free specialist graph paper. Polar Graph Paper was ideal for setting out the brickwork around the top circumference.
     

     
    I mixed my own shade of Humbrol paint and as soon as it was touch dry I scored out the joints in the brickwork. This was made easier by leaving some of the printed lines uncovered. The concrete screed for the centre of the plinth was made from a separate disc of paper coloured Magnolia. The steel banding around the outside was made from 4mm (1ft) strips of black cartridge paper suitably indented at one end to simulate rivets or bolts.
     

     
    I should point out that assembling the crane and making the base seems like child's play compared to rigging the crane.
     

     
    The problem can perhaps be part explained by an old 'Boys Own Annual' trick. If you take a strip of paper and glue the ends together to make a circle, taking care to put a twist in the paper, and then cut the strip along its middle, you will end up with two paper circles linked together. In order to rig the Medium Yard crane and keep the linkage flat over each of the pulleys it is necessary to a put a twist in the linkage - easier said than done.
     

     
    The view above is a taster of where the crane might go. However now that we are having summer it could be some time before there is further progress in this particular corner. 'Planters or Plinths' - well the first pair of small diameter plinths may just end up as Platform Planters.
  3. Silver Sidelines
    I am taking a break from scribing the paving for my platforms. Just for a change the weather here in the south of Scotland might have been better than down in England. So, a chance to do some gardening!
     

     
    Yes, the greenery will be coming, but probably later in the year. (Well hopefully much later if we don't have a repeat of last year.) We have a square of lawn in mind plus a vegetable patch.
     

     
    Gardens do take a lot of time, especially when there are model railways to attend to. We had the greenhouse base above concreted at the same time as the foundations for the 'shed'.
     

     
    Time passes, years go by, and the greenhouse structure has still not been erected. There is not much between us and the Isle of Man and I have to admit that part of me says that any glass structure will get damaged by the winds (even with it bolted to the brick wall). We had cloches over the peas to start with but they got blown off and round the garden three or four weeks ago.
     

     
    Back to railway modeling and the Bachmann greenhouse. Nothing yet is cast in stone, although the greenhouse is cast in solid resin. The door frame on this one had to be glued back in place and repainted after being handled by Royal Mail.
     
    Just a thought, when did the aluminium greenhouse arrive in the UK and were they around in 1960 to coincide with the period of my layout?
  4. Silver Sidelines

    Mind the Gap

    By Silver Sidelines,

    A change of scenery, well a change from running trains. There has been a gap between the two baseboards ever since the layout was started and it was time to block up the opening:
     

     
    I wanted an arched retaining wall. Time and economy are important and I favour the use of card kits. In this instance I decided to make the wall using parts from the Metcalfe Two track Viaduct Kit (PO241).
     

     
    The first task was to form the arches. The picture above shows how parts of the internal viaduct supports from the kit were used to shape and form the internal arch walls. The underside of the arch ring being cut from the 'brick' paper provided with the kit.
     

     
    More by good luck, than by design, I found that the height between my platform and the underside of the upper baseboard was almost exactly the height of the top part of the arches from the kit. Time then for a dry run:
     

     
    Once I had established that everything was going to fit the arch parts of the walls were glued top and bottom and pushed in place between the upper board and the platform. It was then a relatively quick job to stick the facings to the arches and to glue the top brick wall in place. The 'devil' was then in the detail.
     

     
    Metcalfe recommend 'impact' adhesive. I find such glue messy and instead use PVA.
     

     
    At the end of the platform the arches had to be carried down to the top of the lower baseboard. I also needed to fabricate a 'third' arch. The Metcalfe kit assumes that the arches will be made up two at a time. The length of wall needed here meant that I would have to make a single arch. I must have been losing concentration because it took three attempts to get the heights of adjacent arches to match each other whilst at the same time remaining vertical. (I am sure you will be familiar with the situation where baseboards are not quite as level as first imagined.) Finally this end of the wall was finished with a shorter plain section of wall with a triangular tapered section to connect up to the approach embankment.
     

     
    There was then the small matter of what to do under the girder bridge at the opposite end. Waste not want not. I was able to reuse the two arches previously discarded for being the wrong height. These were glued in place, beneath the bridge, around a dummy pillar to give some semblance of support for the overlying bridge structure.
     

     
    Finally a general shot of the finished wall.
     

  5. Silver Sidelines

    Castled

    By Silver Sidelines,

    After praising Airfix Castles in this 'Blog', I have to now admit to purchasing one of Hornby's new Castle Class locomotives, Ince Castle.
     

     
    Historically I had one of Dapol's engine driven castles, Dorchester Castle. More recently I tried out Cadbury Castle, the Hornby version. Neither could cope with seven coaches and the grades on the layout, quite a disappointment.
     
    Ince Castle seems to be a different proposition. It has quite the longest 'can' motor that I have seen. However straight out of the box it seems to me to be rather light weight and when placed on my 1 in 56 gradient with seven coaches it just sat there with wheels spinning.
     
    There seems to me to be lots of spare space inside the body for extra ballast and I have been able to get the locomotive weight up to almost 400 gram. This appears to be just the right weight for the layout. For those of you who can bear to watch trains going round and round there is a YouTube video showing the capabilities of the newly ballasted engine:
     
    http://youtu.be/ud-nhB0FL60
     
    For those of you wishing to follow suit I have attached a few pictures below.
     

     
    First I cut and shaped some pieces of lead from 2.5mm thick sheet.
     

     
    These were then attached inside the bodyshell using double sided tape.
     

     
    There is also some space inside the cylinders. With the engine turned upside down these voids were filled with lead shot.
     

     
    Finally the lead shot was sealed in place with black cartridge paper held in place with PVA.
     
    The result I think, is a very powerful and potentially useful model engine.
  6. Silver Sidelines
    Time to reminisce? Well done to Hattons celebrating their 65th Anniversary. Most of us will at some time have bought from Hattons. Two of my earliest purchases which still live on are a Hornby Dublo 8F and an Airfix Castle:
     

     
    The 2 rail Hornby Dublo 8F was advertised by Hattons in the early 1960s in the Railway Modeller. There was to be a family visit to Chester from the north of England and my father was prevailed upon to drive back through the Mersey Tunnel so that I could visit Smithdown Road and make a purchase, I am guessing for probably £4/19/11. At the end of my school days the model was boxed up and carted round the country until the 1980s when I had the time and resources to rediscover railway modelling. I was amazed at the fine detail on the 'new' plastic models from Palitoy (Mainline) and Airfix. However the performance of the newer models was lacking and the Hornby 8F lived on. After all the Dublo model comes with a heavy cast metal body and a lump of lead ballast inside as standard. At the time I was a regular visitor to Swindon and a toy shop called 'Trents' not far from the Station. One day they were selling off an unboxed Mainline Scot with a damaged body. I could use a replacement Mainline Chassis and the spare handrail and tender were given to the Dublo 8F. In due course the engine was repainted and given the number 48474, a Shrewsbury engine. About the same time it also received front steps, larger size metal rimmed wheels for the pony truck and some cut down Kitmaster glazing for the cab windows. Yes it should have all flanged driving wheels and finer valve gear would be nice. However the model still performs well and I think captures the image.
     

     
    Now to the second model from the past. March 1983 and Hattons were selling Airfix Castles for £12.45 - I bought two. Yes the tender drive was noisy but it was powerful. At the time I already had a Hornby Dublo Castle but the finer detail of the Airfix model with its larger driving wheels gave it a much superior appearance. April 1994 and Dapol produced their engine driven Castle. Again Hattons obliged and I purchased Dorchester Castle with Hawksworth tender for the immense sum of £44.95. Not such a good investment as the Airfix Castles. In fact the Dapol Castle turned out to be a bit of a lame duck. After a few years of use it became apparent that the main drive gear had cracked where it had been forced onto the driving axle. By that time I had acquired a lot of Airfix Castle spares. The solution for me was to convert the Dapol model to tender drive. The empty space above the motor was covered with fine bubble wrap painted black to look like coal while the Hawksworth underframe was butchered and fitted to the Airfix underfame with Loctite. The engine was renamed 7037 Swindon. This was the last Castle to be built at Swindon and complements my Bachmann model of Evening Star, the last ever BR steam engine to be built, again at Swindon.
     
    http://www.flickr.co...eds/5022120741/
     
    However the Dapol body shell was twisted and to cut a long story short the 'Swindon' identity was transferred to one of my original Airfix Castles suitably varnished and fitted with engraved plates, sprung buffers and lamp irons. The very latest Hornby Castles do look tempting. However for the moment 7037 is more than presentable and its performance with seven Bachmann Mark Ones compares favourably with the performance of much newer Bachmann Warships and Heljan Westerns.
  7. Silver Sidelines
    The last Blog entry dealt with adding the electrics for the new siding. With the electrics completed. I have returned to ballasting and have now completed the 'corner':
     
     

     
    It is a start and having added the ballast it highlights just how much more scenic work needs to be done.
     
    The picture below is an update of the earlier unballasted view. The poppy seeds form a relatively thick layer and hide the cast metal base of the old Tri-ang water column.
     
     

     
    Finally another view of the station from the uphill approach. The coaching stock on the right is 'parked' at the top of the reversing loop. I need to make a removable cover to hide this - I have in mind retaining walls with banks and fields on top!!!
     
     

  8. Silver Sidelines

    Four Bags Down

    By Silver Sidelines,

    Back in August when I started this Blog I made a back of envelope calculation based on a test length of 150mm which indicated a requirement for circa 3.5 kg of ballast.
     

     
    Four 1kg bags of poppy seeds were purchased. and I set off ballasting. Now some four months later all four bags have been used up and the work is not yet complete. Not a bad calculation given that I have increased the spread of ballast for parallel sidings and some open spaces around goods and engine sheds. My back of envelope calculation also suggested that the work might be complete by Christmas. That seems still a possibility - but did I know that we would not be seeing the sun here in the west of Scotland from August right thought to November?
     
    The views above show the south end of the main station with Peco Inspection Pits for the 'new' diesels. The other view shows the carriage sidings awaiting ballasting with a row of Skaledale houses waiting to be elevated onto a retaining wall which hopefully will hide the entry to the reversing loop.
     
    Two more views of 'progress', below showing the south end of the main station with some Bachmann favourites reminding me of a misspent youth collecting numbers on Newcastle Station.
     

     
    The second view below shows the Scenecraft Brewery - another 'work still in progress' (Chris Nevard has a lot to answer for).
     

  9. Silver Sidelines
    Time to inspect progress at the main station. All the ballasting is complete, just need to get on with some Station canopies. That will be a job for next summer!
     

     
    This is a view of the 'bay' platforms with a Bachmann 22xx on a branch train.
     
    As originally conceived this was The Terminus for an 'out and back' layout. In fact an 'out and back' double track mainline and a single track branch line accessed from both The Terminus and a junction on the mainline :
     

     
    The layout was constrained by the flue from the Aga and I long coveted the space beyond to form a continuous run. After much negotiation a plan was drawn up and approved and the main terminus platforms were swung to the left using 5 ft (1.5m) radius curves to allow the lines to just skirt the chimney breast, much in the same way that Brunel's original Temple Meads station was extended westwards.
     

     
    Interestingly as soon as the woodwork and track laying for the extension was completed, the Aga was converted from oil to electricity and hence the necessity for a Class 1 flue disappeared. Life is too short so don't even think about suggesting doing away with the chimney breast.
  10. Silver Sidelines
    Back to ballasting! Managed to finish the track to the branch terminus. First an atmospheric view:
     
     

     
    The buildings are the well known Hornby Skaledale, whilst the rolling stock are a Dapol 14xx, Mainline autocoach and a Lima railcar on a Hornby chassis (I don't like the colour of the Hornby body shell).
     
     

     
    And for comparison, an earlier view showing the layout under construction with an Airfix 14xx and some Mainline wagons in evidence:
     
     

  11. Silver Sidelines

    The loco yard

    By Silver Sidelines,

    As someone said, Summer is next year! In the meantime the ballast has reached the loco yard:
     

     
    Where there are to be buildings I have glued a piece of cardboard down to the board prior to ballasting. The cardboard is cut ever so slightly smaller than the building footprint so that it doesn't show beneath the finished building. I also took the opportunity to make a 'concrete' floor for the engine sheds.
     
    Here is the footprint for the old Superquick shed:
     

     
    And here the footprint for the Skaledale Shed:
     

     
    And then the finished product:
     

  12. Silver Sidelines

    Ballasting

    By Silver Sidelines,

    Longsheds layout started life around 2005. Base board construction and track laying is complete but as a number of observers have noted the track is unballasted and the scenery is lacking. This blog will detail progress with these tasks.
     
    Last week saw completion of the ballasting to the mid level junction station:
     
     

     
    This week has seen a start to ballasting at the branch terminus:
     



     
    Ballast is blue poppy seed otherwise known as maw seed and it is mixed with wallpaper paste. It will be interesting to see just how durable the 'product' is.
     

  13. Silver Sidelines
    Onwards and upwards – well I guess it depends on the direction of travel. The Branch Terminus and the Branch Junction described in my last posts are actually the highest parts of the layout being 158 mm higher than the original Main Terminus. Continuing our journey from the Branch Junction the title of this Post should probably read ‘Downhill all the way’ – I think not!

    The Main Junction –wide angle
     

    The Main Junction –panoramic
     
    There are two single track lines from the Branch Junction, one supposedly being of GWR origin and the other having LNWR roots. The later circles round and down in true train set style to emerge at a lower level station immediately beneath the Branch Junction. I refer to this lower level station as the Main Junction. The track layout for the Main Junction is shown below diagrammatically. The station and the adjoining curves occupy a length of some 12 feet.
     

    The Main Junction – not to scale
     
    The majority of my stations tend to be an amalgamation of ideas gleaned from CJ Freezer and the Railway Modeller. In the case of the Main Junction the basic form of the station was taken from the high level through station in the track plan shown below out of the Railway Modeller dated October 1961. I like the idea of a station with three running lines where the centre track can be used for both running in two directions and for terminating trains. I also like the visual feature where engines or coaches can be stored in a spur between the two other running lines.
     

    Track plan courtesy of CJ Freezer October 1961
     
    To turn the Station into a junction I have added an additional platform face dedicated to branch traffic, with a crossover on the main line at the ‘southern’ end of the station.
     

    The crossover at the ‘south’ end of the Station with a Bachmann Jubilee
     
    The layout is designed to accommodate as many trains as possible. Where there is a single track it is important to provide passing places. As well as enabling trains to pass each other these loops can be used to provide temporary storage for whole trains. The Main Junction is no exception. Trains coming off the single track from the Branch Junction are filtered onto the mainline at the ‘north’ end of the station thus enabling a train coming off the single track to pass a train traveling in the opposite direction waiting in the dedicated branch platform.
     

    Coming off the single track at the ’north’ end of the Station
     

    Bachmann Crab coming off the single tack, Bachmann Jubilee waiting to depart form the dedicated branch platform
     
    When I was sketching out the plans for the layout it became obvious that there was space for carriage sidings alongside the dedicated branch platform. In fact there was also space for yet another platform. This would be a ‘relief’ platform of the type constructed in the 1950s to accommodate football or holiday specials.
     

    The Relief Platform with a Bachmann Class 108
     
    To differentiate the Relief Platform from the rest of the station I scribed the paved surface in large bays to represent a newer concrete surfacing rather than the smaller rectangles I used for old flag stones.
     

    The ‘north’ end looking across to the branch platform
     
    I will take a break here and come back next time with some more details of other parts of the Main Junction Station.
  14. Silver Sidelines
    This week saw the arrival of Bachmann 32-451, otherwise known as D369.
     

     
    The ‘Bible’ in 1960
    The introduction of the English Electric Type 4 took place back in 1958. This was some 56 years ago towards the end of my ‘train spotting’ career. More like class of sixty than class of forty.
    Despite being a diesel locomotive as opposed to steam, the Type 4s made a lasting impression and I bought my first Bachmann model, D325 (32-477) in May 2007. This was the ‘custard dip’ version and it was soon followed in the June by D210 (32-478) new from Hattons, a BR (LMR) engine. After some searching it was followed by D368 (32-475) with small yellow pane new from Scalerail, which seemed to fit better with my north east memories. The Bachmann Type 4s were super smooth and powerful runners compared to the split chassis steam outline models of the period and I was fortunate to find a fine example of D396 to make a set of four. I was never happy with the all yellow front of D325 and it was sold. When Bachmann announced 32-451 there was, shall we say, a space for the new D369 (32-451).

    From left to right D210, D368, D396, D369
    Straight out of the box I would post a picture to Flickr comparing the new model with the old:

    D368 (Rt) D369 (L) – D368 lowered
    Both models would seem to have their good points and I am not sufficiently expert to say what is right and what is wrong. However a number of people have asked me to detail how I lowered the older model – D368.

    From left to right D210, D368, D396, D369 – as bought except for D368
    Perhaps I had bought a ‘reject’ model. For whatever reason there was a lot of daylight between the body and the bogies. I would compare the model with D210 which was a later version.

    D210 - inside
     

    D210 - the driving console just pops out
    In contrast the driving console for D368 is a nasty chunky piece of plastic.

    D368 – the driving console
     
    I am not sure in what order I tackled the job but I think I swapped the bodies and chassis of D210 and D368 and concluded that I needed to shave off some of the plastic driving console from D368.

    D368 – inside modifications
    I also decided that I needed to shorten the middle four body shell support pillars so that the body would sit down better on the metal chassis. However as can be seen in the view above I must have cut too much plastic away as I had to put some plastic spacers back at one end!
    D368 (32-475) was the only Class 40 that I had to modify – it has the lowest reference number so might be the oldest. I shall add a few comparison views:

    D368 (Rt) D210 (L)
     

    D368 (Rt) D369 (L)
     

    D368 (L) D369 (Rt)
     

    D368 (Rt) D369 (L) – layout location
    Finally there is a short video clip of D368 on a BR (ER) express passing D369 still running in!
     

  15. Silver Sidelines
    I have spent some time these last few days searching unsuccessfully through boxes for an old calendar. I have in mind a Dalesman Publishing Company calendar from the late 1990s. It had a picture of the then recently proposed 60163 ‘Tornado’ in BR green livery with Late Crest heading a rake of maroon Mk1s on the Skipton Carlisle line. Sadly I think I can remember parting with the calendar during a recent decluttering exercise. Never mind, it is the memory that counts. Whilst the picture was not particularly outstanding it acted as a catalyst and encouraged me to seek out and purchase one of Bachmann’s original models of Tornado (32-550), produced in support of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust 2001.

    Bachmann 60158 ‘Aberdonian’, the first member of the Class to arrive on the layout
     
    Coming from the north east of England I think Thompson’s A1 Pacifics are one of the best locomotives to run on British Railways. I am also of the opinion that the Bachmann model captures their image to near perfection. In an earlier Post I suggested how the already impressive haulage power of the Bachmann model could be further improved by removing bogie springs and adding lead ballast.

    Bachmann ’Tornados’, Proposed left, Preserved right
     
    Now that 60163 is a reality Bachmann have produced a number of model variants in different liveries. Recently there appears to have been a surfeit of models and I have taken the opportunity to acquire a keenly priced 60163. I purchased a model of the engine in its preserved BR green livery with Early Emblem. I had in mind a plan to use the chassis under Aberdonian which was one of the first Bachmann models and which was manufactured with a tiny motor. There were issues with this engine and Bachmann had to replace motors on some models. Whilst I have not had any problems with the motor in my Aberdonian the engine has struggled to cope on the layout with seven coach trains.

    Tiny Bachmann Motor – ‘Aberdonian’ Bachmann 32-551
     

    Big Bachmann Motor – ‘Tornado’ (Preserved) Bachmann 32-550B
     
    And for completeness

    Big Mashima Motor – ‘Tornado’ (Proposed) Bachmann 32-550 (and Kestral)
     
    Bachmann’s model of the preserved Tornado is quite impressive and for the moment body and chassis will be staying firmly together. I am almost too embarrassed to say but Aberdonian still with its tiny motor is actually performing very well now that I have un-seized the tender wheels!

    Bachmann ‘Tornados’, Proposed left, Preserved right
     
    There are a number of detail differences between Bachmann’s models of Tornado, as proposed and as preserved. Most of these differences reflect changes and compromises that had to be made to the prototype to fit with manufacture and operation some fifty years after the other members of the A1 Class were withdrawn.

    Bachmann ‘Tornado’; Tenders, Proposed top, Preserved bottom
     
    Most obviously there have been changes to the tender to increase the water capacity to cater for the absence of water cranes and water troughs on the modern rail network.

    Underside Tornado Tender - (Proposed) Bachmann 32-550 top, (Preserved) 32-550B bottom
     
    The tender differences continue on the underside, without water troughs there is no need for a water scoop.
    As an aside whilst un-seizing the wheels on Aberdonian’s tender I could remove the two sets at either end but I was reluctant to force the tender frames sufficiently apart for the middle pairs which seemed to me to be trapped by the water scoop moulding.

    Bachmann ’Tornados’, Proposed top, Preserved bottom
     
    Viewed from above, the Proposed model shows a riveted cab roof in contrast to the all welded version of the Preserved Prototype. The cab whistle (if that is what it is) also seems to have changed sides and the nameplates on the Preserved model correctly follow the prototype with different crests displayed on either side.

    Bachmann ‘Tornados’, Proposed left, Preserved right
     
    The Preserved model sports lot of shiny metal with burnished coupling and connecting rods, shiny buffers and smoke box handrail and silver covers to the outside cylinders.

    Bachmann A1 ‘Tornado’ – as purchased
     
    My keenly priced Tornado was not without problems. The top of the chimney was loose in the box when it arrived and the cab was not properly attached to the boiler. I had a similar problem five years previous with ‘Great Eastern’ – so maybe Bachmann have a ‘production issue’.

    Bachmann A1 ‘Great Eastern’ – as purchased
     
    Great Eastern was returned to the retailer. This time with Tornado I would attempt a repair.

    Screws beneath cab
     
    With the body shell removed from the chassis the two screws holding the boiler back plate can be undone and the boiler backplate and tender fallplate released.

    Backplate and fall plate separated from cab
     
    Undoing the screw beneath the smoke box will release the front of the boiler.

    Smoke deflectors clip onto boiler handrails
     
    The smoke deflectors are a clip fit onto the ends of the boiler handrails. The boiler assembly can be lifted clear of the footplate after gently easing the smoke deflectors, one side at a time, from the boiler handrails.

    Boiler and cab separated from footplate. NB Steam Pipes
     
    With everything in pieces so to speak the cab can now be glued back onto the boiler. Firstly line up and slide the cab over the various control pipes and linkages. Only after the cab has been positioned should the adhesive be applied. I used Butanone sparingly applied by a tiny paint brush into the joint inside the cab.

    Recess for steam pipes
     
    When the cab is firmly attached to the firebox the boiler and cab assembly can be refitted to the chassis. As with dismantling, the smoke deflectors have to be gently eased apart to allow the smoke box to drop down and for the clips on the deflectors to re-engage with the boiler handrails. There is then the small matter of the outside steam pipes. These may or may not have been glued to the footplate. In my case they were not firmly attached and it made sense to remove them before replacing the boiler/smokebox assembly.

    Hornby style ‘Bluetac’ to position steam pipes
     
    I positioned the boiler/cab assembly onto the footplate and started to tighten the fixing screws. I then used Hornby’s version of ‘Bluetac’ to position the steam pipes (one side at a time) into the slots in the sides of the smokebox. It is then relatively easy to slide the lower end of the steam pipe towards the boiler and to push the fixing spigot into the hole in the footplate. Fingers and thumbs can be awfully big and I found it useful to use the edge of a cocktail stick to press the stem pipe ‘home’. Then with everything in position the fixing screws beneath the smoke box and into the backplate beneath the cab can be fully tightened (not forgetting to reattach the tender fall plate).

    Bachmann 60130 ‘Kestral’, the latest member of the Class to arrive on the layout
     
    Finally a view of another Bachmann A1. This time ‘Kestral’, another older model which was recently acquired from a second hand model railway dealer. This arrived in perfect condition without the need to re-glue any bits together. Might there be a moral there?
  16. Silver Sidelines
    Continuing the north east theme I have invested in a Bachmann Deltic of the two tone green variety. I had to cancel an order on eBay when a quick check revealed that the Deltic Preservation Society still had ‘The Green Howards’ in stock (and many more Bachmann models) at very competitive prices, frequently below the cost of second hand items on that well known auction site.


    Bachmann D9008 The Green Howards – Limited Edition for the Deltic Preservation Society

    After recent successes with running Bachmann sound locomotives on DC Analogue I thought that a sound fitted Deltic would complement my existing Class 40 and Class 45 models. I would add digital sound to my model,‘The Green Howards’.


    Speaker cavity in Deltic ‘The Duke of Wellington’s Regiment’ – Note factory hard soldered connections for cab lighting

    Bachmann have produced a factory fitted digital sound Deltic and the metal chassis has a shallow cavity machined in the top for a speaker. Recent Bachmann Deltics have a 21 pin socket and the factory fitted sound model is fitted with an ESU LokSound V4.0 chip. The perceived wisdom is that this ‘standard’ sound system does not capture the deeper notes so characteristic of the prototype locomotive. How to proceed?


    Standard speaker packaged with ESU / LokSound V4.0

    There are numerous articles on the internet for improving the sound quality of the Bachmann model. Fundamental to all these suggestions is the need to provide as big a speaker as possible. One of the earliest articles was by Ian Harper of Peasholm Models (Railway Modeller January 2010) and currently available on the Olivia’s Trains web site. Ian recommended a bass reflex speaker fitted within the tanks. I noted that the speaker was fitted pointing up into motor cavity without the need to make any openings in the base of the Deltic fuel tanks. A negative point as far as I was concerned was the need to remove metal from the base of the chassis and to lose the ballast weight from within the tanks. The latter weighs some 75g – a significant lump!

    ‘The bass reflex speaker in the tanks’ approach has been taken a stage further by Legomanbiffo and here on RMweb there is thread with a detailed guide for increasing the effectiveness of such a speaker. In this approach the base reflex speaker is fitted pointing downwards and a new reflex tube is fabricated to fit alongside the speaker. I noted that the size of the bass reflex speaker was limited by the presence of the reflex tube. I also noted that there were significant modifications needed to the Bachmann fuel tanks requiring tools and levels of skills not readily available on our kitchen table. I would look for another approach.

    Technology moves on and new speakers are constantly becoming available. Could I fit a ‘sugar cube’ speaker in the top of the chassis? Probably - I could utilise the cavity provided by Bachmann and I would not need to dismantle the model or lose any ballast from the tanks. One downside would be the need to reroute and lengthen the existing wiring for lights and power from the bogie running across the top of the chassis. My research on ‘sugar cube’ speakers took me to the YouChoos web site where I discovered some 6mm deep 8 ohm ‘bass’ speakers reportedly producing a fuller sound than the sugar cube speakers. There are instructions on how to fit these speakers into a Bachmann Deltic. I noted that the speakers were installed facing downwards with holes drilled through the base of the Bachmann tanks. YouChoos favour Zimmo decoders which are shown matched with 8 ohm speakers. The LokSound V4.0 chip is engineered to work with a 4 ohm speaker. From my school days for resistors in parallel (R1 and R2) the total resistance RT is calculated as follows:

    1/R1 +1/R2 =1/RT
    Hence for two 8 ohm box speakers:
    1/8Ω+1/8Ω=1/4Ω

    If I wired the two 8 ohm bass speakers in parallel, the combined resistance is 4 ohms – just right for the V4.0 decoder. I had a plan.

    I would buy a LokSound chip from my usual supplier, loaded with their Class 55 project. Thank you Kevin at Coastal DCC. I then purchased a pair of YLR-302506 8 ohm bass box speakers from YouChoos.


    Contacts for cab lighting - Bachmann D9008 The Green Howards

    First a word of advice. Before even thinking about disconnecting wires and PCBs it makes a lot of sense to check the fixity of the two pairs of copper contacts on the back of the Deltic cab walls which are for the cab lights. Even if these appear to be in perfect working order I would suggest adding a few spots of Super Glue to keep these contacts in place during the subsequent works.

    Having ‘checked’ the fixity of the contacts for both cabs, the chassis can be dismantled. If your model is like ‘The Green Howards’ you are lucky. In this case the contacts rely simply on the spring resistance and do not hinder dismantling. If on the other hand the contacts have been factory soldered then there will be a short delay in proceedings whilst these joints are unsoldered to enable the Little and Large PCBs to be unscrewed and lifted clear of the metal chassis.


    Little PCB unscrewed

    You are now rapidly approaching 'the point of no return’. Armed with a paper and pencil to note the colour of wires, the power leads marked L and R from the bogies can be unplugged from the Large PCB. With the wires disconnected the top retaining screws for the bogies can be removed and the bogies carefully pulled out from the chassis. At this point I actually screwed the Large PCB back in place as a temporary measure whilst I prised up the four plastic tabs that are used to attach the lower chassis and tank moulding to the metal chassis.


    The tank weight

    Once the plastic chassis is separated from the metal chassis the internal weight from the fuel tanks can be unscrewed and plastic fixings removed – I used a miniature cutting disc. Using the box speakers as a cutting guide, the ballast weight was marked out and then cut into three pieces with a hacksaw. The centre piece which I retained was notched with the miniature cutting disc to accommodate the speaker wires.


    Trial run – fitting the speakers

    The underside of my speakers had a metal disc which protruded about 0.5mm from the centre of the plastic box. I used my Dremel type drill to remove some of the plastic in the tank base to allow the speakers to sit flat. I would follow Ian Harper’s advice and have the speakers pointing upwards with the sound filling the cavity for the drive shafts and escaping around the bogies.


    Inside of the tanks prepared

    After separating and straightening the red and black speaker wires I used double sided tape to fix the speakers and the remaining centre portion of the ballast weight back into the fuel tanks. With an eye on the finished article you need to group the two black and the two red speaker wires together by colour, black to one side and red to the other. A little bit of black insulating tape will not come amiss.


    Enlarging the hole for the motor wires to accommodate the speaker wires

    At this point I turned my attention to the metal chassis and unscrewed the Large PCB (again). This time I disconnected and unthreaded the two leads to the motor. With the wires unthreaded I ran a drill through the hole in the metal chassis. I didn’t make a note of the sizes but the first pass was made with a bit essentially the same size as the existing hole. This was followed by a second pass using a drill bit one size higher, maybe 3/32 and just large enough to accommodate one motor lead and two straightened speaker wires. You will note that I was able to carry out this work without disturbing the motor which I thought was a big plus.


    Motor reconnected and two black speaker wires showing

    After reconnecting the leads for the motor I then fed the two black speaker wires up besides one motor lead and the two red leads up besides the other motor lead. I don’t think it matters which hole you choose as long as you keep the speaker leads with the same colour together. With the all the leads threaded through to the top of the chassis it is time to offer up the plastic chassis with the speakers to the metal chassis and to clip the parts back together. Care needs to be taken to ensure that the new speaker wires are not trapped by the motor and I used some black insulating tape to pull the wires to the sides of the fuel tanks. Like me you might wish you had more delicate fingers and better eye sight!

    With the fuel tanks reattached it is time to refit the bogies, first rethreading the power leads, then engaging the drive shaft before carefully pulling through the surplus power wires and screwing the bogies back in place. It took me a couple of attempts to get the power leads fully through the chassis block without leaving any surplus curled up on top of the bogie.


    All the wires reattached and the PCBs screwed back in place

    It is then ‘simply’ a case of reattaching all the leads and screwing the PCBs back in place. The Green Howards did not come with any black plastic connectors for the sound ‘socket’ on the PCB so the leads from the speakers were attached by solder, keeping the two black leads to one tab and the two red leads to the other tab. Any surplus speaker wire was carefully bundled and held together with black tape.


    Adding some extra ballast

    As purchased, ‘The Green Howards’ weighed just under 600g. After butchering the ballast weight in the fuel tanks the weight dropped to around 530g. Is this significant – I don’t know. However there is the void on top of the chassis provided by Bachmann for their speaker. I made a card template to drop into this space which I used to cut a couple of pieces of lead from 2mm sheet, holding them in place with double sided tape. The net result was to raise the weight of ‘The Green Howards’ up to 570g. There is room to add lots more lead. However my two pieces fitted tidily under the existing wiring and I decided to stop there.

    What do I think of the resulting sound? I am well pleased. I did try the engine with the LokSound speaker before making any alterations, it was thin and tinny. The sound from the two bass speakers seems to me to be in a higher league and has certainly impressed a few visitors.

    http://youtu.be/HtzlHPExAvc
    Bachmann 'The Green Howards' with digital sound running on Analogue DC

    As an aside, when ‘The Green Howards’ first arrived on the layout the cab lights did not work at one end of the locomotive. I eventually traced the problem to the connection between the copper strips and the PCB (the ones that came factory soldered on 'The Duke of Wellington's Regiment'). The latter PCB seemed to be coated with varnish or possibly soldering flux. After a light clean with some emery paper the cab lighting was restored. Now after installing the LokSound chip the cab lights were again extinguished (on analogue DC). This time it was not an electrical problem but a case of changing one of the chip's analogue default settings with the SPROG.
  17. Silver Sidelines
    In the absence of any pictures on my Blog over the Holiday season I have set up an alternative view or http://longsheds.blogspot.co.uk/
     
    So far I am about half way through adding the old posts.
     
    My initial attempt Updating to RM 2013 appeared to have no effect however I can now report (14:09 27/12/2012) that all is back in place. There were problems initially with one of the more recent Posts that I had edited over Christmas - this was solved by pasting in a complete new copy.
     
    Regards Ray
  18. Silver Sidelines
    I feel this entry might be slightly disjointed. It is potentially a huge subject and it is a case of not knowing where best to start. I did think of using the title “What’s black and white and read all over?”
     

     
    Hornby Scenics Medium Black and Medium Light Grey gravels mixed + Maroon (not Red) Morris Minor Traveller
     
    Ballasting all the visible trackwork with Blue Poppy Seeds is becoming just a distant memory and it is time to stop making excuses and get on with some more scenery.
     

     
    Hornby Scenics Fine Grey gravel with a sprinkling of Gaugemaster Coal
     
    I did make a start with the coal yard and found that I could make an acceptable surfacing by mixing Scenics fine gravel with wall paper paste spread using a stainless steel spatula.
     

     
    I used the same technique for the road over bridge
     

     
    The hardboard lift out section of road was surfaced with mix of Scenics fine grey gravel mixed into a paste with wall paper adhesive and trowelled into place with a spatula.
     

     
    Good – wall paper paste plus fine gravel was the way forward. However what gravel to use? The Blue Poppy Seeds used for ballast have a natural variability and I wanted to use a scatter material at the sides of the track with a similar variability. I also wanted a material that could be easily replicated. The layout is quite sizable. Whilst I would expect differences in perhaps colour along the way I wanted the overall appearance to be generally similar. Hornby Scenics seemed to offer a solution – they are readily available (at a price) and appear relatively consistent in size and colour.
     
    What if I tried some of the medium gravels and say mixed the colours? Well I think we have seen the answer at the top of this Blog – far too coarse and loud. Another approach was needed.
     
    I remember reading somewhere – probably here on RMweb that all the materials that you need are in and around the house.
     

     
    So a solution – almost unlimited quantities for free! More details next week then
  19. Silver Sidelines
    So how was your weekend – wet and wild? No gardening here so in between the showers I had time to revisit my Bachmann V2s.
     

     
    60862 Bachmann Catalogue No. 31-565.
     
    ‘60862’ is one of Bachmann’s latest offerings which comes DCC ready and has a ‘fixed’ Cartazzi rear axle. Straight out of the box the engine feels very light weight and at 310 gm it is not as heavy as the models that it replaces. As I have said here on this Blog before – I like playing with my trains and at 310 gm the resulting tractive effort was not acceptable.
     

     
    The lack of weight is a direct result of the cavity provided by Bachmann for storing a decoder. Using some of my supply of second hand lead flashing it was relatively straightforward to fashion three mini slabs of lead, nominally 20 x 35 x 2 mm. The sides of the Bachmann pocket are not square so a little extra filing was needed to get the pieces of lead to wedge into place.
     

     
    The DCC pocket is not the only recess which is readily available and the picture above shows other locations where mini slabs of lead can be wedged into place. The rear of the firebox needs slightly more thought. Firstly the lead needs to be cut short so that the chassis and Cartazzi mechanism is not obstructed. Secondly this piece of lead needs to be fixed in place. I use double sided tape.
     
    Back to the kitchen scales and the engine now weighs a respectable 370 gm
    .

     
    60865 Bachmann Catalogue No. 31-563 (Split axle chassis)
     
    What about my older models with the split chassis? Previously the body of these engines had been packed with lead shot held in place by ‘draughting/masking tape’. Not really an engineering solution but this had brought the weight up to around 340gm. However the biggest single improvement that can be made to these earlier models is to remove the pony truck and trailing axle springs. Removing the trailing axle spring (false Cartazzi) is straightforward requiring only one screw to be undone. Removal of the spring for the front pony truck is trickier. The early Bachmann V2s were very thoughtfully engineered with pickups on all wheels. Unfortunately the wire leads from the pickups for the front pony truck wheels pass through the spring. The leads can be released by removing the tiny screws on the underside of the pony truck, or the leads can be un-soldered at their other end where they join the chassis. Time goes by and I forget what I did, I suspect I have used both methods.
     

     
    The view above shows locations where it is straightforward to wedge pieces of lead. Again the mini slab on the back of the firebox needs holding in place (double sided tape) and the infill to the banjo dome needs fixing – I used draughting/masking tape. With lead positioned as shown above the engine weight has been brought up to just over 360 gm. – satisfactory for my needs.
     

     
    60964 Bachmann Catalogue No. 31-552 Original Split Chassis model
     
    I have to include a picture of 60964 (Durham Light Infantry) which has been given the same lead weight treatment and which still runs very well. This was my very first Bachmann engine, bought new from MG Models (Sheffield) in March 1996 for what was then the immense sum of £62.95. At the time I was hugely impressed by how smoothly and quietly the V2 seemed to run – compared to the Mainline offerings of the period. (It also came with the correct size wheels for the Cartazzi axle.)
     
    What about performance? As in BR days gone by I want my V2s to be able to deputise for ex LNER Pacifics. With lead ballast added as described above all my V2s can haul seven coach trains up my 1 in 56 grades. Yes – there is space to add more lead in the smoke box and perhaps around the firebox but I don’t need to. Did I do anything with the pony truck spring on ‘60862’ (the latest model)? No it was already very slack - so leave well alone!
     
    I am pleased with all my Bachmann V2s and in terms of running I would say there is very little to choose between the older and the new models. Perhaps the running of the newest model is a touch smoother and quieter. What do you do if you are using Digital Control and want to increase the tractive effort – well I guess you put the Chip in the tender!
  20. Silver Sidelines
    Not a new embankment but the same paper and paste techniques used to replace the coving and cover the opening for the old Central Heating flue!
     

     
    The last fortnight has been dominated by swapping out the oil fired boiler for a heat pump, and making good the plaster and paintwork. Crawling around in the eaves makes a change from ballasting. Not sure which I most prefer!
     

     
    Since my last post, ballasting of the mid-level single track junction has been completed. It is maybe reminiscent of central Wales with an ex LNWR connection to an essentially ex GWR line. The LNWR had running rights to the junction - but not the branch terminus. The shed to the side of the junction is supposedly of GWR origin, the view below was obviously taken on a Sunday.
     

  21. Silver Sidelines
    No heat wave here in the west of Scotland. In the meantime ballasting has passed under 'the bridge in the middle'.
     

     
    Two pictures looking up and down the line.
     

     
    And a more general view which highlights where some of the 'civil engineering' works have still to be finished off.
     

     
    The bridge itself lifts off to alow access to the tracks beneath. Further details are provided here in my photogallery.
     
    http://www.rmweb.co....789-the-bridge/
     
    I have also added a picture from the past to show how plans change. The diamond crossing with 'insulfrogs' was replaced with a single slip with 'electrofrog' for infintely smoother running. Also a loco spur was provided at the end of the goods sidings to hold spare engines.
     

     
    A good example of where allowing time to reflect (play trains) highlights where improvements can be made to the track layout prior to casting everything in stone i.e.ballasting!
  22. Silver Sidelines
    This week there have been conflicting interests, so not so much ballast and instead a bit of history:
     

     
    My old Superquick engine shed in its latest postion - a rare picture with no engines.
     
    The shed dates back to the early 1980s and my Bracken Ridge Layout. It was part of a pair of sheds which were customised to fit my track spacing. The sheds were made narrower. This was achieved by separating the gable ends from the walls. If you look carefully you can see where the brick arch from across the entrance was separated from the rest of the gable wall to enable the new narrower gable to be lowered back onto the side walls.
     

     
    Another scanned image from the past with Airfix Castles, a Lima Crab and some Mainline ex GWR and LMR types. There is also a Hornby Dublo 8F which lives on with handrails and tender 'borrowed' from an old Mainline 'Scot'.
     

     
    The Bracken Ridge layout was never completed (as with so many layouts) and everything was packed away and moved to Park View for yet another uncompleted project:
     

     

     
    Back to the present layout the sheds have had to be separated and the coaling ramp has been abandoned!
  23. Silver Sidelines
    Another wet week so the potatoes are still in the ground! However good progress with the ballast on the mainline:
     

     
    As originally constructed the exit from the goods yard / station was a simple diamond crossing with dead frogs:
     

     
    This was then changed for a single slip. There is more metal rail on the single slip which gives superior running. However the rather abrupt 'turn left' is too tight for some engine / tender combinations and is in restricted use.
     

     
    The change from 'diamond' to 'single slip' required the insertion of a new 'pink button' on the control panel to operate the 'turn left' solenoids. The orginal 'straight across mode' being catered for by the existing buttins:
     

     
    Now a close up of the newly ballasted crossing:
     

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