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nigelb

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Blog Entries posted by nigelb

  1. nigelb

    Its aliveeeeee

    By nigelb,

    After a short while just collecting thoughts i soldered the couplng rods together and fitted them ....... mmm and there was something binding .
    I realised you have to countersink the crankpins at the back of the wheel, they were rubbing on the bearings, a 2.5 mm drill gently created a pocket for the bolts head
    then all rotated smoothly,
    mmm should I ???
    ok i fitted the motor and powered it up and whoo whoo it ran up and down a length of track with no binding no limping or lurching, now I have decided to order slaters plunger pickups after an attempting use PCB and springy wire so its on pause again
     
    and i forgot to do some pics sorry
  2. nigelb

    1st 7mm loco

    By nigelb,

    Pete Mullens G7 arrived on Monday , I was good in that i waited till tonight to begin.
     
    The chassis is well thought out with tabs and slots on sensible place's first stop was to cut of the S7 spacers and compensated frames ( i am F7 modeling and not compensated)
    These were therefore scrap so i had practice on soldering the frames together no problems so I cut out and cleaned up the correct bits
     
    and assembled as per instructions. I found I had to ream out the bearing holes a fair bit to ensure a nice fit. The ashpan sides baffled me for a bit until i realised there were 2 etched lines one on each side . a hold and fold was very useful for bending these and the spacers.
    next stage fitting the Ash Pan lever ............ er what does it look like I have asked Peter for a list of numbed parts so thats it till it arrives.
     
    I could not resist putting the driving wheels on and it will just need a little fettling as the axles were a tad tight in the bearings
  3. nigelb
    I have settled on Lauder as the location for the layout as the real station is build on a curve, and I am limited on space i shall follow a leaning L shape will allow me to set up 5 1.000 by 0.750 meter baseboards in my lounge / kitchen area (just) more details to follow
     
    stock continues to grow ( well the kits do) now its going to be a case of finishing them off
  4. nigelb

    so It begins

    By nigelb,

    I have decided as do many others to start a blog about my Foray into 7mm NB railway modeling as I am slowly building up my 6 wheel coaching stock ( very Slowly) i am going to be increasing my goods stock so far a Parkside dundas 4 plank NBR open . nice model needs a bit of refining
    I have a connoisseur models 20 ton brake van whick is going together very nicely and i am saving up my pocket money for a loco
    ohhh and I have 1 mter of flexi track lol
  5. nigelb

    Next steps

    By nigelb,

    all my good intentions of doing photographic records came to naught i now have a 4 plank open and 8 ton van ready for the paint shop
     

    RSU on order should be here later this week, so today i purchased a sheet of armor plate ( that is what it feels like ) got it home and stuck cork tiles ( to the bottom) LOL ready to move forward on the brass kits
  6. nigelb

    track laying (points)

    By nigelb,

    after the package from 2MM sa i have started on my 1st proper point . one issue os getting the sleepers cut to length so this weekend i have made a simple adjustable jig using some angle ally and an old 15 mm pipe cutter will add afre pics when i get home from SWMBO
  7. nigelb
    a little off topic but while sorting a 00 gauge "trainset" for the grandkids i had a bargan off EBay
    5 Hornby LMS coaches for a tenner.
     
    they arrived friday morning and when un packed they turn out to be made of tin !!! errr i think i got a deal there now just need to value them and sell them on . any ideas ? they have buckeye cuplings and are labelled made in liverpool
  8. nigelb
    Not much done tonight as work interfered However a start has been made on my first ever attempt at a signal, and the 2nd and 3rd lol
    The pic is as far as its got, and as this is going to be a ............ first i have decided NOT to make it working ...... I am waiting for Missy to publish her methods
    I think I must invest in some different temp solders I have multi core and solder paste and has any one got any recommendations ????
  9. nigelb
    finally it has come out of the corner where it has been hidding
    this evening saw the work bench / desk clear of clutter and the poor lil 1P has beed attacked with iron solder and files
    So far the foot plate is almost complete.
    as for the chassis !!!! if that s what a kind person would call it . i have given up for the time being and ordered a ready made one for 2mm Locomotives ( cheers Damien ( usual disclaimer))
    another little project is the GWR home signal for the end of the platform bits of tube and MSE parts at the ready
    this boy is now on a roll
  10. nigelb

    Grandborough continues

    By nigelb,

    Junk cleared off check took a little longer due to some beer token generation activity ( ok work ) arriving
    solder station and gauges are now poised the gwr is to be assaulted
     
    1 questionas the dates of my layout are 1920 to 1940 what length should the
    A gwr rails be
    B LMS rails be
     
     
    thanks in anticipation
    Nigel
  11. nigelb
    mmmm had my first attempt at an etched under frame they is bloomin small and a little hard on the instruction side .......... its not quite good enough to post a pic on its own so when i have done the 2nd one i will put pics up
     
     
    alsoooo havin a go as a simple home signal . Missy has got me in the way of wanting it to work with lamps and spectacles n levers . SWMBO is getting me the wild swan book on scratch building semaphore signals for xmas
  12. nigelb

    desicion time

    By nigelb,

    Its time to get my bum into gear cos Missy has made me find my mojo ( it had fallen under the layout)
    So I have started work on the project plan for the layout
    simple really
    1 Clear off the junk i have "stored" on Grandborough by 28th Nov
    2. Complete the GWR branch line track 30th Nov
    4. Have a working point 5th dec
    3. Prep the order for the 10 wagons i plan on having and 4 coachesand complete to running the 1P 10th dec
    4. Have the 2 LMS platform tracks laid 23rd dec
    This will leave the new year ready for buildings and a new project plan
  14. nigelb

    progress begins

    By nigelb,

    The base board bridging bits are here and now in place
     
    And I have spend a pleasant evening playing around with the easi trac turnout operating units the pics will show how I fitted the first one
    This took about an hour of cutting and fettling the unit. still was a lil off centre i think next one i will drill hole and offer up the tie bar to get the rectangular hoe smaller.
     
    Now its time to lay sleepers and start track laying.. Slight bit of good news ......... i can have a weekend at home as the gf
    ( SWMBO ) says she will be busy with PANTO this weekend ......... oh yes she will
  15. nigelb

    base boards up

    By nigelb,

    Well after a sunshine break I have really got going the two main boards are made and up nice blue curtain around to hide the junk ...... modeling materials beneath
     
    next step is the Templot paper plan stick to a sub board ( old H&S sign )
    i have ordered the turnout operating units from the 2mm association when they arrive its drill the fixing holes and commence track laying
     
    in the meantime i must cut a template for the platform to give me building construction breaks from the track laying
    mmmm wonder if i could get a snow day tomorrow ??? got a touch of gods dandruff here in Acton is all.
  16. nigelb

    in the begining

    By nigelb,

    After many years away from rail way modelling, and now having space for a simple N guage terminus layout in my ' compact flat in W London' a start was made.
    After a few weeks of on off work the un scale ness of code 80 track became aparent!! ALLLLL Stop
    an investment in Templot soft ware http://www.templot.com/ was made and a disign started.
     
    The layout will be 2mm fine scale branch line terminus '' some where in South Warwickshire'' and be a LMS station with a GWR branch to add some green ....more history to follow over next few posts.
     
    Thanks to a very understanding Girl Friend ( thanks Pat ) her garage is providing a work shop to assemble 12mm and 6 mm ply into 3 base boards 1 main is 1.1 m x 45cm and 2 1.1cm x 40cm
     
    Being a bit of a magpie / womble i rescued some aluminumn i section from a skip to make a light weight support frame. Photographs will be added as and when they are taken.
     
    one of the people who have inspired me is Missy ............. Highclere thats the level of finish i am aiming for
  17. nigelb

    progress made

    By nigelb,

    Made a fair bit of progress. the plunger pickups are fitted fully with a blob of araldite.
     
    the powerd part of the chassis goes together very well and with the slaters squares axle ends make quartering simple and effective.
    one thing i would like to see in the instructions are more images ( i am going to send some off to add )
    I have found the helping hands a great item to assist when soldering.
    I have got the brake shoes put together and will be adding them this week
     
    i will repeat how much help Pete provides its fantastic

  18. nigelb

    1st try at track

    By nigelb,

    Now being in possession of the required bits I thought I would try a short (very) length of 0FS track.
    The sleepers were first treated to two coats of celeron dark scratch remover ( its pretty old so i may get a different product ( any recommendations ??))
     
    The rail was cut to length de-burred and two chairs threaded on placed on the sleepers with a track gauge in place and the base of the chairs flooded with MEK a little pause slight pressure applied and then allowed to set
    Idid cock up slightly the layout of the chairs as they are not central
     
    I am more than happy with how easy it was to do and how rigid even such a small section is.
     
    I have ordered point timbers from the laser cutter i got the sleepers for the quote came in at 7 mm wide 3mm thick and 600 long 112 of them for 37.50 plus VAT
     
    Now i need to start working on the baseboard
     

  19. nigelb

    1st 7mm loco part 2

    By nigelb,

    This evenings efforts resulted in a lovely free running rear bogie and rear frame extensions
    The instructions refer to the front bogie not sure whats going on there ( unless i decide to run it bunker 1st LOL )
    Assembly was straight forward apart from no mention of the 2 rivets to be punched out at the ends of the bogie equalsing beams
  20. nigelb

    It wasnt me grandad

    By nigelb,

    oh how we dread those words i got home to SWMBO'd place where dunchurch castle was in the garage seems two of the grandsons had gained access last week and i noticed three of the points had serious damage i.e. trashed not being a happhy bunny is putting it lightly as the layout had been constructed with mostly available materials. its now sat down here in london pending the desicion to relay the track with 2 mm finescale in fact i have most of the materials for that too
  21. nigelb
    Well after a night pondering the track plan i realised it would be very restrictive so I added a loop.
    as per Ver2
     
    Then spent the day in the garage with drill and jig saw screws and track results in the attached pics Track is fully laid on double sided tape . point motors fitted the big holes are to allow the point motors to fit and will be covered with card tomorrows plan it to do some scenery templates then its off back to london with it in the car hope fully by next weekend trains will be running to a time table
  22. nigelb

    the beginnings

    By nigelb,

    After a long time working on Grandborough and getting frustraited with my lack of progress I had a clear up of old bits n bobs and found just about enough N gauge bits to put a small fiddle yard to terminus layout together.
     
    So here is the history of Dunchurch castle
    When the Rugby and Grandborough first surveyed the route between the two towns they would have to go through the earl of dunchurch's estate. well he was not too impressed untill he realised he could insist the build a short branch to his stately pile to keep him in coal, beer, wine, transport his workers and move his prize race horses to meetings. this would save him paying the exorbitant tolls on the Bilton bridge.
    over time the branch came under the controll of the LMS.
    the track plan is simple, due to this was all the points i had to hand , and will be operated with a farish 0 6 0 tank, a suburban coach for the rugby thrice daily service and a small selection of wagons and horse boxes
    track is Peco code 55 and all the points will be fitted with peco point motrs
  23. nigelb

    the first point

    By nigelb,

    Spent an pleasant hour producing my very first jig built point.
    i found it to be pretty easy providing time is taken and the instructions followed.
     
    One thing to ensure is the rail is the right way up . once i decided the top i marked it with a permanent marker
     
    and a good file to make the tapers in the two point blades
    the next stage will be sorting out some form of TOU
  24. nigelb

    track making

    By nigelb,

    MMM the jigs arrived my mojo rose up high so the first attempt at a B& soldered point was removed from the jig my only bit of 2mm stock runs through it but i defiantely need to practice soldering before i try again
    So i have decided to produce the straight track first using the point jig lol my soldering is improving in leaps and bounds
  25. nigelb

    getting there

    By nigelb,

    Second evenings work is done ( my cutting disc broke when i put the dremmel down so took that as a sign)
    Tank sides are done rear tank sides are done Step supports ( no steps yet ) are done
    and the last pic is my signal bits all laid out ready for tomorrow nights first job . ( identify cut to size and ...... rest lol
    the 1 P it needs a clean up and my Macro lens is very cruel

     
    and the signal bits
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