lash

Ok lets celebrate enjoy the moment put up bunting invite the neighbours and toast the last length of code 60 and tiny little plastic insulators.....few!

Just spotted Gruffalo's agree so thanks too, and that Y point will be making and appearance very soon ,laying the fiddle yard is one of the next jobs

Nathan and Westerham thank you , I have mentioned before how much I get out of the encouragement of other RM members I thought I might finish laying the third rail tonight but I had a horror with one length so there are still a couple of lengths around points to complete the job. It is hard work, but to me no worse than ballasting or electrics and it really is such a statement of where and what the layout is about . If you look back on the previous entries for Portsea you will see I nearly didn't do it but the arrival of the 2 Bil was a game changer for me ,a total must have and it had to run on a representation of the proper track . Now if you really want to admire third rail and all about it look at St Mary Hoo, P4 and the third rail works !!!! Totally beyond my ability , persistence and comprehension ,brilliant

Just a quick post to round off the weekend Modelling is steady but slow and I have managed a few hours this weekend . I think I have threaded my last Peco insulators on code 60 to complete all the third rail and will try to complete the job by midweek . Deep breath and move on....

Done a bit of sorting in the railway room, shared with my tropical fish who are all big Southern fans, and laid some more third rail . This was around points and I like the effect.I also think I might be getting faster and neater at the job but that is probably just illusion and I will be punished by this evenings efforts springing off the sleepers in a shower of peco insulators tomorrow morning Anyway here is a pic of tonight's efforts

Did manage two lengths of third rail today but didn't get to work on the overall roof as flat packs intervened Managed a quick time out to the Hobby Goblin in Burslem and ordered a Hornby Southern signal box, the one based on Deal I think. I will build my own LSWR type 2 box one day but as mentioned before the story is a second world war incendiary got the old box and a standard Southern design was provided in its place .

Guess what I've been doing this morning waiting for ikea delivery.still just about sane, well no les so than before and third rail may be preferable to self assembly furniture Jobs for today: Two lengths of third rail laid Start on overall roof rebuild Feeling purposeful

Thanks for that Sub, its really good to know I've touched a cord with another modeller and very encouraging I am going to produce a mixed list of jobs ,some quick and easy some fiddly (anything to do with third rail !) so I can see some progress ,that way I can keep up momentum better when I do get going.

Getting house back to normal after decorating and had my first play with Portsea Town in ages ,and carried out a very small modelling task ,sticking down a recalcitrant bit of third rail with superglue, took ages may not have worked made a mess and nearly stuck my fingers together . now I remember the joys of railway modelling . Anyway here is my first pic for a while showing the (slow ) progress of installing the third rail

Just checking out when I last posted and it's nearly 3 months and not a lot has happened except unwarranted distractions like holidays , DIY on my house and a very busy summer at work. However I can feel some modelling stirrings and maybe in the next week or so ( after I have put my bathroom back together) . I visited my local exhibition in Stoke a couple of weeks ago and purchased a lovely green Bachmann mk2 first ,a bit off piste for me but a lovely model at a very good price. So a further period of silence will now ensue but not for long. In the mean time the rest of you are doing some great things

Laid another length , feeling better but heading for a strong drink. Could be worse I might be modelling 25KV

Laying my first curved third rail .........................aaaaargh. Will persevere.

The fiddle yard board is recycled from an old (30 year old so old ) project and as mentioned before is in all round good nick. It is 4 feet by 15 inches . The main board is 12 inches wide. I attached a 12 inch length of 2by 1 as a lip on which the main board could rest , the extra width would be to the rear to give extra area for stock handling and allow a long siding on the diagonal for a 4 coach emu or 3 coached plus a loco . The join was made by the really old fashioned method of a hinge with the fin cut and ground down with a disk on my mini-drill and then a pin inserted (big staples for the moment) so the hinge can be offered up to the board and drilled and screwed to the boards . On the none viewing side this was a right angle join and it worked fine Until I find a cheap y point I am just going to temporally lay a piece of tract to play trains Wiring will be very simple ,just a feed to and I will rely on isolating insulfrogs and the Peco isolation switches I picked up yesterday. On this board all points will be hand operated ,at least for the moment So here are some hopefully informative pics

Winter has arrived early in North Staffordshire, hey ho what a filthy day However its been a good weekend . As mentioned I visited the Derby show yesterday and it was well up tot the standard I have come to expect, with a good number of smaller layouts which is why I like it so much. I also enjoyed scouring the trade stalls and those fascinating boxes underneath them for bargains and found a few . I have been making progress with the fiddle yard as my top priority because it will mean I can play trains properly and work on the visual aspects of the Commercial Road ,non-terminus, end of the layout . More on this later but I found some nickel silver code 100 for £3 a metre , a Setrack point for £4 and some Peco isolation switches for £2 each. I was looking for a small radius Y point but no luck so I will keep looking . Funds are tight this month so if I can avoid buying a new one I will. The Y point is vital so I can get the clearances to have one siding which can take my 4 Cep. I am sorting some pics for a post about the fiddle yard so I may be back later after I've enjoyed a g and t in the warm evening sunshine , or more likely a nice cup of cocoa with a splash of rum to keep me warm. Somewhat off subject I visited Ryde a couple of months back and there is the most amazing chocolate shop there called the Chocolate Apothecary, sensational hand made chocs but more to the point it serves hot chocolate with chilly ,quite superb and amazing so give it a try if you're cold after a walk down the pier or on the prom ,its just opposite the station so there is a railway link honest

Had the bank holiday weekend away in the south with my girls and busy since so not much progress but I am planning a big push to complete the third rail installation and painting the platforms . I have realised I need to install a board at the back of the layout to enable me to complete the scenic work on the station so I will be using 5mm foamboard . Then I can fit the canopies . I have go hold of some "Tacky Wax " last week and I aim to use this to temporally fix signal arms in place . I am keen to get some signals installed ( I have always seen these asa vital part of the character of the layout but the prospect of wires and cranks etc is a bit much for me at the moment so hopefully this will get the job done but enable me to come back to the mechanism later It's the Derby show this weekend ,one I always enjoy as they see to have a good variety of small layouts so I'm looking forward to Saturday

The point being Copydex worked well

Cork down on fiddle yard board this evening . Learnt from my experience last year and used glue on both surfaces with happy results. Pushing on and I am trying to keep steady progress going

Third rail now down in all platforms and getting easier as I go. Much better to thread insulators on code 60 when they are still on the sprue and then cut and trim Worked on platforms ,more coats of artists acrylic mix and gently rubbed down . I'm leaving this coat 24 hours and then am trying rubbing down with very fie wet and dry paper with a small amount of water . A trial patch indicates a convincing matt finish Might stick some 1/8 inch cork on fiddle yard board but my back's starting to ache so maybe enough bending for today .I think I have decided on a quick and cheap fix for the fiddle board using small radius points I already have , I could do with cutting back on my modelling budget next month and concentrate on using what I have . Speaking of which I scratch built a plasticard model of Brockenhurst B signal box a long time ago . it was good but frosted windows let it down ,maybe a rebuild with new glazing and modern clear adhesive is possible?

More progress All canopy roofs stripped and so I am ready to start again on these ,pretty well from scratch as they all need regluing and damage will mean I will need to fabricate a few new glazing bars . All track cleaned with Peco rubber and electrics tested and the whole layout is running smoothly and without any issues . No doubt disaster is waiting round the corner or the light at the end of the tunnel is a 12 coach unit from Waterloo appearing from Buriton A second length of third rail is down ,much quicker than the first . I have collected and old 4 foot baseboard from store . I built it 30 years ago and its in very good order and am planning to start work on a fiddle yard . The big issue will be finding a way to have at least one road which can take my 4 CEP. Thinking hat on as I'm heading for a walk round Trentham Gardens, always good for inspiration.

Rewired dodgy point to switch frog polarity and its working very well ,full on playing trains now possible. It was a relatively easy job and I was able to pick up the wiring under the base board ,encouraging for future alterations and maintenance I didn't bother isolating and rewiring the blades after advice from Steve at Hobbygoblin and shorting seems unlikely . A good evening all round

Pics as promised Dave thanks for the link ,interesting . Do I see the makings of a layout for those nicely built card houses to be displayed on ?? Thoughts turning to signal boxes . Kernow LSWR brick box looks lovely but maybe a bit rural branch or cross country line in its look and lacks a bit of grotty urban presence . Bachmann Southern box too big ,new Hornby SR box maybe ,perhaps the original was bombed and replaced like Portsmouth Harbour . Really I fancy something like a smaller version of Portsmouth and Southsea or maybe Fratton.

Progress so far this week One of the canopy roofs with gunky gone wrong paint subjected to the Modelstrip treatment which worked fine but also disassembled the whole thing ,not a problem ,deep breath and start again a little older and no wiser Platforms coming on with more coats of acrylic and I am lightening and varying the shade as I go Been testing electrics, cleaning track etc. after ballasting and then repositioning the point motor on point where blades would not fully close . After much fiddling and cursing they do now, but conductivity is not good . I am going to grasp the nettle and retro fit frog polarity switching and rewire the point DCC style .I'm looking out the soldering iron and heading for Hobbygoblin in Burslem for a Peco accessory switch to fit on the bottom of the point motor. Finally and to me most importantly I have laid a two foot length of code 60 third rail with Peco insulators. I made a jig from an offcut of two sleepers with a hole in the correct position for drilling the location hole for the insulators and then turned this upside down ,positioned on the rails and pushed it along and drilled every fourth sleeper . Insulators where cut from the sprue, trimmed and threaded on the code 60 before pushing the insulators into the drilled hole and fixing everything with a drop of liquid plastic cement . Sounds so organised and purposeful all that but it was a real pain and produced the now customary stream of regrettable language . Portsea Town is now definitely and obviously Southern and seeing that I am somewhat chuffed ( which is totally the wrong word because the whole point is the trains do not chuff but whir and spark and click ) I have taken a few pics and will post when I have sorted through them

Just noticed I've passed 5000 views ,haven't you all got something better to do ! I'm delighted actually RMweb really does spur me on ,if rather slowly and I love the sharing of ideas and experience

Just a bit of progress as the estate ( south lawn and kitchen garden) had needed my attention as things have started growing with the end of the recent ice age (woolly mammoths spotted in Chesterton but scared off by locals) and needed my attention. Platforms given a coat ( sort of a wash but a not really translucent ) of artist's acrylics to get things going, a mix of black ,paynes grey ,burnt umber and white . Let's see how it dries and take it from there

Lovely buses Dave and thanks for the attention, its very encouraging So with the construction of the platforms done I'm feeling good ,optimistic and confident of progress . Well we'll soon put an end to that because I decided to seize the day and press on with ballasting in the sure and certain knowledge I would make a mess ,knock over a pot of diluted pva , end up with lumps of sticky ballast on sleepers and no doubt gum up the point blades and jigger the electrics for the next month. So far all as predicted but it has to be done so the sooner its over the better. Thoughts now turning to a cunning jig for drilling holes in sleepers for third rail insulators and painting platforms ,tops and sides. Also patching areas of poor ballasting ( far too many ) and a thorough clean up, electrical and running health check when ballasting is done and before laying the third rail final track weathering . Planning to use Modelstrip on canopy roofs Friday night so I have good time to clean up Saturday morning