AFK (Altonian Complementary Railways)

[ianathompson]

55 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Photos for para 166 and 176 have come a cropper Ian

 

Not quite with you on this Barry?

They seem to be the correct photos and captions on the preview (and I have checked!)

 

Unless you are referring to the sleights of hand necessary to keep things running!

Looks like there might be another on the cards as the railcar remotoring is proving more awkward than anticipated.

 

Ian T

[Barry O]

Sorry Ian 

 

it was on you web page chronicles.. I have all of the photos and words.. apart from photos at paragraph (point?) 166 and at 176  which have no photo showing.

 

Baz

[ianathompson]

15 hours ago, Barry O said:

it was on you web page chronicles.. I have all of the photos and words.. apart from photos at paragraph (point?) 166 and at 176  which have no photo showing.

 

Barry

 

Sorry to hear this.

It shows okay on the editing preview and I have visited the site as a guest and it shows okay as well.

 

Does anyone else have this problem?

If it becomes an issue I will contact "Support".

 

Ian T

 

[hexagon789]

32 minutes ago, ianathompson said:

 

Barry

 

Sorry to hear this.

It shows okay on the editing preview and I have visited the site as a guest and it shows okay as well.

 

Does anyone else have this problem?

If it becomes an issue I will contact "Support".

 

Ian T

 

Hi Ian, I meant to say yesterday when I saw Barry's post. All the images are displaying correctly for myself - Nos. 166 and 176 included, no issues my end.

 

[Barry O]

Will recheck it.. could be something on my computer..

 

Baz

[hexagon789]

6 minutes ago, Barry O said:

Will recheck it.. could be something on my computer..

 

Baz

Perhaps the size of the page and all the photos? Can load a bit slow if the Internet speed drops, maybe just give it a minute or two to load everything and then see if the photos appear?

 

I used to have to do this before the phone company renewed the phone line and my connection speed went up 5 times in one go!

 

Hopefully something sorts itself out for you Barry, fingers are crossed for you!

[ianathompson]

Time moves on and another set of pictures chronicling the layout is now available.

As per usual it will take a minute of two to load up.

 

 

181. The Isuri pilot returns from Rivaborda in the mid afternoon. There are a number of vans in the Riverside yard and more in the goods yard. These, along with the hoppers in the blanket factory, could do with moving south. This could mean a late evening special might be needed. Wagons gradually seem to accumulate at Fenditavalat partly because of the limited train lengths that can be held in the Basabazaro.

 

 

195. The schools’ railcar across the Magasoromban, or the Altingablecaŭtoj for Thalnian speakers, provides a pleasant rural contrast with the pressures of Lacono. The train is making the stop at Ayleha, out in the wilds. The Maejorolatyrn valley is well known for its cold microclimate, as the cow contemplates whilst chewing the cud.

 

 

212. The RFK-FDV goods ‘gets’ the “Star” as it leaves the snow shelter at Ospicio, as is to be expected. This is at the cost of holding the mixto at the down home to allow sufficient distance for a clearance point. The AFK does cheat a little where it is unavoidable but as far as possible it tries to follow prototypical procedures.

 

Ian T

[ianathompson]

After the passage of some time a number of photographs have been added to the website.

They were ready some time ago but I took a break at Easter and there was not time to add them before I left.

There are about forty or so of them.

 

 

216. The FDV-RFK goods is nowadays scheduled for a crew change at Lacono. It will stand for almost two hours because there are no paths south of here. The shunter has been unable to visit the Danulbo industrial zone today so the engine crew are asked if they want to earn a little overtime. To anyone who has worked with engine crews this is a no-brainer, alongside, “Is the Pope a Catholic?” Unwary van drivers had better pay attention when this monster is in the middle of the road!

 

225. One slightly concerning aspect of having both goods trains shunting simultaneously is the possibility of crossing the relevant consignments notes into the wrong train administrative packet. As has been noted before, admin is not a strongpoint of the AFK. Two similar crew vans with consecutive numbers does not help matters either, although the sharp eyed will be able to spot differences between, currently incomplete 276, and 277.

 

 

230. Meanwhile the AFK’s nemesis is bearing down upon the congested southern section of the line. The mixto makes the stop at Cadsuiane-Fanhuidol, as seen from the steep approach road to the foremost village. A couple of opens are needed here for the pulp wood traffic but this is allegedly in hand.

 

253. The up railcar, meanwhile, has reached Boursson. Any-one with an understanding of the AFK would have smelt a rat by now. The railcar is standing in the PFT (loop) with nothing to cross and all the signals “on”. It will be held here for some time until the mixto appears. What the passengers, especially the entitled bureaucrats, make of this is anyone’s guess. At least Glissent has the Golden Perch to hand but Boursson is literally in the middle of nowhere. It is named for the numerous surrounding villages which incorporate the name of the first Abbott of Narrasson Abbey into their own names for historical reasons. The station is remote from any of them and only contains a very basic refreshment room, run by the stacioĉefina between trains. It is also, inevitably closed by this time of night!

 

Ian T

[ian]

Nice to see a crew change modelled (represented?) - we modellers tend to forget that the little people running the trains need to be considered as well.

[ianathompson]

The operating session has finally finished.

There are around forty photos on the website following it to its conclusion.

They can be found here.

 

 

 

272. The railcar, towing the ambulance, and the two van tail load, runs into Urteno at 21.05. It will stand to allow the hospital patients to be removed from the train whilst the shunter, in the background, adds the Post van. There are few passengers on the train by now and most of them know one another well. The Urteno station stop used to be the cue for them to decant to the station café/bar creating a ‘club’ style atmosphere. The station staff advises them that they had better be quick tonight because the train will leave “shortly”, although everyone realises that this is “AFK speak” for, “In around half an hour”.

 

 

279. Speaking of ugliness the CFS three phase loco brings the cement train into the Merkatubaxu at Isuri. The loco and van of the Altingablecaŭtoj local have simply waited in the square before preparing to take this train out. There has been a crew change as this working runs to Lacono before taking a break and leaving early in the morning. The interchange between the two railways is quite flexible and although the AFK train is timed to depart much later it is easier to run it early tonight. A phone call to Nordabordo, across town, sees the train traverse the connecting spur, blasted into the Orbon gorge following WWI.

 

 

284. The banker is closely followed by the railcar covering the URT-ERO diagram. This is the last down passenger service of the day and it serves to return the unit to its starting point for “tomorrow”, It does often runs empty over the last leg of the journey, once it leaves the Kasatritikakamparoj for the coast. The RFK-URT goods, beside the trainshed wall, will terminate here tonight and return with the wagons in the siding on the left.

 

It made a dramatic arrival, as it derailed on the turnback curve behind Aspargo engine shed and could not be retrieved without removing the retaining wall behind the shed. This necessitated clearing all the locos and stock as well as taking out part of the tunnel entrance. This is a right pain in the rear and such manoeuvres are reserved for the between sessions breaks, as far as possible. The culprit was quite obvious once I could get access. The two rear SG wagons (on transporters) had buffer locked because I had not used a long enough connecting bar. There are three lengths available and I had used a short rather than a medium length one. The rerun, with everything replaced and the correct length bar, went off without a hitch. Lesson learned for the future!

 

 

298. The pilot, as usual, has the last say in matters. The tank wagon is positioned opposite the gasworks, after one in the morning, for the pipes to be extended across the road to allow for loading. It will then be filled with tar. The road is closed during this procedure. There are one or two items that still require shunting, even at this time of night, but there is a limited window for the loading process so the pilot returns to the shed and the session ends.

 

That concludes the tenth recorded operating session. I only ever intended to document one session, but readers seem to find them popular. The railway will now shut for repairs and maintenance as well as some construction, in one form or another. There are three other layouts also demanding time and attention so how much progress is made remains open to speculation. As usual I have many grandiose schemes under consideration but experience suggests that few of these will come to fruition!

 

Thats all for now folks!

 

Ian T

[ianathompson]

 

Just a short note about the layout which is not quite dormant.

 

Attention has turned to building the train ferry which crosses the lake.

This has existed as a plank for far too long and a decision was made to develop it.

 

Four new locos were begun at the same time although so far they have escaped the camera man.

 

Here are a couple of ferry photos.

 

The ferry stands on the kitchen table in its basic state.

One of the locos has crept into the photo at top right.

 

 

A little more development has taken place.

The woodwork on the wheelhouse needs tidying up and a saloon has been added onto the upper deck.

The technical aspects of the ferry have been discussed on another website.

Basically the asymmetric layout is counterbalanced by machinery, weights and ballast tanks below deck.

 

Outdoor activities, including cricket and croquet, are taking precedene at the moment so it could be some time before another session starts.

 

Ian T

[ianathompson]

As we have seen before, the AFK is a large layout with a seemingly insatiable demand for locomotives.

In the earliest days of the layout finding sufficient motive power was a huge problem.

Eventually enough were produced to cover the twenty-odd diagrams and leave a few spare for extra trains.

 

It had always been my wish to eventually be able to run diesel and steam days.

The first attempt, shown in the last session (session 10) showed that, to paraphrase a well known saying, I was a diesel short of a roster.

The “waiting attention” shelf contains a number of mechanisms obtained and hoarded over the years, with vague plans for development.

 

As per usual, following the finish of a running session, I had a number of possible options.

Of the many choices I decided to develop not one but four of the steam chassis.

In conjunction with the building of the ferry and the development of the cathedral coach I may have bitten off a little more than I can chew, but there we go!

An extensive rebuild/refettling of the N gauge layout has also consumed time and there is also the prospect of some development of the 009 layout, as well.

 

Cirdan, the shipwright, seems to have become a little lazy recently but MaD (the AFK works) has finally turned out two of the four locos.

They are in a rough and ready state and need refining.

The usual commissioning procedures will be followed in that they will be extensively tested during the forthcoming session.

 

 

First off there is an 0-4-4-0T mallet.

I have always wanted one of these but I have been jinxed in achieving this aim.

A Roco chassis fell apart, a “bitsa” mechanism followed suit and a Bachmann chassis dismantled and smashed its valve gear.

Finally I have acquired enough Atlas 0-4-0 “switchers” to have another go.

There are sufficient mechanisms left over for a 2-4-4-0T sister as well.

 

The front engine has been de-motored and is kept on the track, and the wheels forced to revolve, by a large spring.

This has unfortunately made it a little nose heavy and sometimes it lifts the rear wheels of the front unit off the track.

This has been cured to some extent by a little weighting and compressing the spring.

The roof is detachable, to access a retaining nut, and still needs more attention.

 

There is no prototype, as such, and the model is generic.

Many of the cosmetic parts of the scrapped 0-8-8-0T were rescued and have found use here, although items such as the steam pipes need further attention.

 

 

The other loco is a 4-4-0, supposedly representing one of thee earliest express engines supplied to the line.

Initially it was inspired by some of the Swedish examples but then Austrian influences took over so it is a bit of a hybrid.

 

Unusually for the AFK the chassis has been left in the red that it came in.

I suppose that it could also have received a coat of green paint, as has the shed pet at Lacono, but this seemed to be a step too far.

 

What kind of trains this loco will handle might be open to question but there is plenty of space in the tender, under the coal, for weights to be added to aid pulling power.

I would have preferred a four wheel tender but the mechanism is an 8 wheeler.

A previous attempt at making such a model did have a four wheel tender but it was abandoned for aesthetic reasons (believe it or not!)

It was based on a Schools chassis and eventually I decided that it was too mis-shapen to be credible.

The mechanism is always there for another attempt.

 

Ian T

Edited July 8, 2022 by ianathompson
typo

[ianathompson]

A chance comment about DB 6 whheel coaches, in another thread, reminded me that I had a lot of continental N gauge in store.

Well the Sun has been shining a lot recently hasn't it?!

I've tried to avoid the worst excesses but...

 

.... Inverness Citadel has seen a number of mirages.

 

 

Could not resist it! 2-8-4T BR 86 stands in the platforms of the Scottish Highland capital's second (and little known) Citadel station.

Note the paired 6 wheel coaches. The V100 or BR212 heads up a freight train.

 

The V100 used to be a good runner but seemed sluggish and resentful at being woken up.

I don't think that it, or the other stock for that matter, really appreciated the code 55 Peco track.

They are children of the 70s and populated my portable layout in Post-Grad digs, a long time ago now!

 

As with many other things my interests moved on but the stock remained.

If I was going to seriously use this stuff it would be with code 80 track.

 

 

Meanwhile another visitor pulls in, fresh from the West Coast (of the USA).

The driving trailer lights up etc and the loco is on the far end.

 

 

This is a FM Trainmaster, one of my favourite locos from the fifties dieselisation period.

The loco is an untouched ancient Atlas model aquired second hand recently.

Depsite its age it runs superbly and was probably much cheaper than its contemptible contemporary British N gauge counterparts.

Note also the factory supplied Kadee style uncoupler.

 

The train was bought as a David Jenkinson style "Funny Train".

It does not fit the geography or era of the N gauge layout but it gets an occasional outing because I like it.

It also needs all the bridges removing and the loco will not clear the platform.

It was really bought for the (neglected) roundy roundy.

 

 There is also a Fairbanks Morse C-Liner and a couple of alcos (FA and FB) but the less we digress along that road the better.

 

 

Finally the Japanese have taken over.

I have often thought of writing a spoof article (to be published on April 1) about the GNoSR Inverness electrification scheme.

This Kato equipment looks as though it could fit the bill for the Edwardian era.

 

The far unit has model Scharfenberg couplers which will not couple automatically.

They are also prone to falling off with rough handling.

Do not ask how I know this!

The near unit has an Arnold coupling (standard N gauge) hooked over the adjacent Scharfenberg on the trailer.

It looks as though they might have beeen designed for this to happen.

 

Don't go looking for the prototype however,

This is a repainted converted diesel unit with the pantographs crudely stuck on top.

 

Probably back to the grind shortly.

 

Ian T

Edited July 8, 2022 by ianathompson
typo

[ian]

A change, they say, is as good as a rest.

 

The only problem is it can suck you in.

 

In 2016 I only ran a Marklin shunter to see if it would still go - and am still playing with it and its increasing number of friends six years later....

[Sarcodelic]

I like the AFK's new locomotives. If the Lawleys had been built in Austro-Hungary they probably would have looked like the 4-4-0.

[ianathompson]

I have made a post about  the Urteno signalling in the signalling section.

It can be found here.

 

It seems to much like hard work to post twice on one forum and I am a lazy b****r!

 

Feel free to respond here or on the signalling thread, although I suspect that there might be some real experts on there not slow to point out the error of my ways.

 

Ian T

Edited August 30, 2022 by ianathompson
typo

[ianathompson]

It is time to re-awaken this thread with news of another operating session beginning.

This will not follow the norm in that construction work will also take place at the same time.

The idea is to tidy everything up before a proper session begins.

 

 

You will have to go to the website to find out what is happening.

As a bit of a spoiler there are currently only three photos.

 

Ian T

Edited September 1, 2022 by ianathompson
typo

[ian]

What a nice way to approach some shakedown testing and minor chores.

Edited September 1, 2022 by ian

[Northroader]

I don’t think I’d want to be a PICOP on an overnight job on the AFK. It was bad enough driving home on the M4, trying to stay awake. Throw in a few mountain passes...

[ianathompson]

4 hours ago, Northroader said:

I don’t think I’d want to be a PICOP on an overnight job on the AFK. It was bad enough driving home on the M4, trying to stay awake. Throw in a few mountain passes...

 Yes, well, thinking of one PICOP in particular.....!

I am sure that uax6 knows the bloke's name.

"Aw right chap....."

 

All good fun.

 

Ian T

Edited September 1, 2022 by ianathompson
typo

[ianathompson]

The session continues, slowly.

A lot of "off-site" work is also going on.

The latest photos are here.

 

 

11. The problems with the loco have been fixed, (I hope) although this was not a five minute job. The rear truck derailments were traced to the rear centre buffer not rotating freely, which was easily solved by loosening off the securing screw. The front pony truck was more difficult. and persisted in sliding along the track despite various remedies being adopted. When it was adjusted to rotate it lifted the front driving wheels off the track. I blame myself for this as I had lazily used one of the convenient holes in the chassis to fix the body and had made a weirdly shaped front pony to avoid the projecting nut and bolt. This was the cause of the problems. The loco was dismantled, another hole widened, and the body fixing re-sited and the pony truck re-shaped.. With a little extra weight added at the same time it is now performing better than it was. It is seen here alongside, the now numbered, bus 63 on a notorious piece of track. Every large layout seems to acquire an awkward spot and this is one of the AFK’s. The goods yard entry drops off the outside of the cant on the loop so, as it is close to the work bench, this is where recalcitrant stock is tested. If it stays on the track here it will more than likely do anywhere else. This relaxed Sunday session has already proved its worth. It would have been a major pain to have had to carry out this remedial work in a full session. The choice of the loco for the engineers train was not by accident either.

 

Ian T

[Barry O]

Fascinating as ever @ianathompson. My work on my layout currently is chas8ng gremlins!

 

Baz

[ianathompson]

2 hours ago, Barry O said:

My work on my layout currently is chas8ng gremlins!

 

It sometimes feels to be a full time occupation on mine!

 

Ian T

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, ianathompson said:

 

It sometimes feels to be a full time occupation on mine!

 

Ian T

What is the Altonian word for gremlin?

[ian]

31 minutes ago, St Enodoc said:

What is the Altonian word for gremlin?

I believe it should be gremlino - but the mountain dialects may have something more abusive. ..