lay out the layout

I have decided to take each board upstairs for the following work:

- to complete outstanding scenics such as grass patches, fencing, station area details etc

- to improve the area around the board edges

- to complete wiring where it needs to be done (mainly the points decoder installation)

- to de-gum the points anc chekrails and reinstall (if necessary) the point motors

- to remove stray ballast from the railhead and spot reballast where gaps are found

- to apply a second coat of sleeper grime to the alignment

- to test the electrics

- etc

Moving each board upstairs will ensure I can get very good light and also makes it a bit more social than spending hours in the garage!

The first board has been taken upstairs, spot reballasted, board edges improved and tested. Tomorrow it will have its sleeper grime painted on and the bridge handrails will be attached. It will then go into store (i.e. back to the garage) as a complete board (save for the backscene, which will be a winter photoshop panarama job).

Colin

What's been happening?

Lots as usual, just not had the time to report on here yet.

Much work has been focused on K1 - a key loco for obvious reasons. This kit was bought from the 009 second hand sales stall with just one pair of cylinders complete. Dad has helped me get the bogies square, mount the wheels square on axles and add the crankpins (things that could have gone very wrong), but apart from that I've done the rest myself, which I'm quite pleased with given how fiddly these kits can be!

The tanks, firebox, boiler cradle and cab were started last year, and it has been relatively easy to join these together with 14BA screws (after the firebox and boiler were joined), add white metal castings and to create the bulk of the boiler/cab unit.

I then turned my attention to the bogies - detailing them with the sandboxes, brake rigging (very fiddly) and overlays. The other cylinders were also completed with their wrappers soldered and the various bushes etc reamed and installed. [cylinders not shown below]

I have now started on the gearboxes, with the central 12T gear installed on a short axle.

and the main shafts carrying the two worms to the two wheels cut to length. Unfortunately I need a larger vice to install the worms on this axle though.

So, putting it together (more detail has been added to the bogies since this shot) and balancing it all for a photo (note that the tanks are not square as they are just placed on at the moment), the loco looks a bit like this:

For some light relief, I've also started work on my Baldwin... a white metal chivers kit on a farish 08 chassis.

It needs detailing yet but the main bodywork is all on and looking pretty good. These white metal kits are just an exercise in filing until pieces fit correctly...my workbench is covered in little bits of white metal!

One further job which has been mind-numbingly boring has been fencing - over 100 small posts have had 4 holes in each drilled out with a 0.7mm drill. They're all done now thank goodness!

Taliesin has had some attention to correct the shape of the rear toolbox - the kit has the earlier type of angled top toolbox included, but this has now been altered to a flat top box, as per the real engine.

Pickering Brake - I picked up a kit off ebay a few weeks ago and this has entered the carriage works for cleaning up, folding and de-fretting. It hasn't got any further than that though.

Platform benches - Dad has completed these fiddly benches for me. They just need little dragons for the sides. cool!

NGG16s - the prototype railway has announced that a fifth NGG16 (no. 109) has been bought by Pete Waterman for restoration at Crewe, and use on the WHR from 2011. I currently only have 2 NGG16s, and given that these are the main motive power for the line (and my progress at making Taliesin and K1), I have decided to sell the unmade double fairlie and Linda kits I have, to buy another NGG16 kit.

Upnor Castle - Allen Doherty tells me that this kit will be available for mid August. I already have a bullant motor bogie for it, so this will go straight into the works when I receive it, as it's such an important loco for the layout.

Colin

Little blue engine

Tonight I have been hacking about an old saltford models simplex kit (which is for a longer chassis version with a cab) and adding some details to create a (non-running) model of Dolgarrog. It just needs a brake lever from somewhere now (and painting).

The idea is to leave it in one of the Rhyd Ddu yard sidings as a static exhibit. There is little chance of getting a motor in it, and even less of getting a DCC chip in!

The chassis sides and white metal details were from the kit, the other bits mainly being plasticard additions.

This model differs from the real Dolgarrog in a number of minor ways, but when painted blue only those who really know the loco will be able to spot them I think. One of the alterations is the seat (the real Dolgarrog has a wooden slat seat), but with a driver added you won't see that and it will be much more solid for handling.

some bits and pieces

Both traversers are now wired up and just need some of the rail ends chopping back, but I'll do that when I've got the rest of the hidden sidings erected.

Powerbond - great stuff. Better than superglue as you get some time to rearrange stuff before it fixes. After it has hardened, it's strong. I bought a bottle at the NEC (well shared one each with Dad). I've gone through that now and ordered another. Their branding seems to have altered (new on left, old on right), but the name and the stuff are the same.

Both the funkeys have completed bogies now.

Colin

update

Traverser wiring.

Both traversers have had their 6 roads cleaned and tested: I found one area with damaged sleepers, so these were replaced. I then removed the last sleeper on each length of track. Copper clad sleepers have replaced them on one traverser, these were glued down, a gap created in the middle using a saw and then the rails soldered to them. Later the rail ends will be cut to exact length, for now they are ok. I ran out of copper clad though so the second traverser awaits a delivery from Dad's store.

Both traversers have however had wires soldered to each road and these returned back to a central piece underneath the board. using flying croc clips all roads were tested and worked fine.

Jobs left: copper clad installation on traverser 2; connect +/- to hidden sidings board using a tamiya/kyosho clip and trim rails to length.

Other news

Two small planters have been created out of plastic strip for the platform. Flowers are being put together for these and also a display near the steps.

A worsley kit for the porthole bug box was completed with sides/ends/seat and wheels done, roof to follow the installation of mesh for the sides. I have prepared another Pickering brake kit for soldering by cleaning it up and removing it from the fret.

The open topper bus has been stripped of its markings and red stripe by applying mek to it and wiping off with a rag. This is now ready for transfers when I get the time to have a go at the crafty paper - see post below.

Colin

Home setup thoughts

The above might look like lego, but I can assure you that it's not. These are some diagrammatic representations of how the layout could be set up. I need to think about this before I finish the hidden sidings!

The top one shows the layout as complete, with hidden sidings in dark blue, Rhyd Ddu boards in light blue and potential future boards (for the Ffestiniog layout) in grey. The total footprint is 8 x 16 feet or 128 square feet.

The second one shows the Ffridd Isaf section as set up for a small home test track. The red box would be a new 2 road board, a hidden sidings board being used at the other end. This would be approximately 10 x 8 feet (80 sq feet) depending on the length of the new sidings. Potentially two smaller hidden boards say of 2 feet length could be used, making this a tighter 7x6 feet footprint (that's just 42 square feet).

The third shows how the layout would look if the Ffridd board was replaced by the hidden sidings board. This makes the footprint 6x12 feet or 72 square feet.

The fourth shows this same arrangement, but also without the 2 foot square board at the Pitt's Head end, with the station board continuing straight on to the hidden sidings. This is thus 14 x 6 feet or 84 square feet. This option could of course also include Ffridd Isaf but this seems pointless really as it makes the layout longer, but the same width as the full layout setup.

The idea is to install holes for baseboard alignment in enough places to make all of the above possible.

PS I've left off teh triangular section at the corner of Ffridd Isaf as I couldn't find a quick way of adding it in MS visio!

crafty!

With the painting season likely to start up pretty soon, I've been thinking about transfers. Blackham (http://www.blackhamtransfers.com) make very nice transfers indeed, although almost all have to be pre-ordered. The problem is that they are very expensive when you need the kind of quantities I need - just think about crests for the modern bogie stock (4 per carriage)!

Thus I have been looking at alternatives and I reckon this stuff could be an option:
http://www.craftycomputerpaper.co.uk/ProductDetail.asp?ProductID=158&CatID=15

Where I can create my own artwork (the crest for example is easy) all I need do is buy some of this paper (£1.55 an a4 sheet) and print my own!

I would be interested if any other modellers out there have tried it...

Colin

a year of blog stats

It's a year since I started recording visits to this site via google analytics. In that year I can report:

9472 unique visits, with each visitor looking at 1.73 pages (reflecting the fact that most just look at the recent posts on the homepage)

Each visitor spent an average of 1 min 18 secs on the site

37% typed the URL directly, 21% came via google, 6% from the 009 society website (this link was only added later in the year, so the real total would be higher) and another 10% from various other blogs etc. The rest is made up of other search engines, image searches and WHR forums etc

There were over 1023 different search terms that resulted in visits to the site, some very bizarre!

Given that this blog was set up principally as a method for ensuring that I kept the project going, to tell family and friends what was going on, to act as a kind of project diary and as a respository for images of the layout, I think these figures are pretty good.

General update

After finding some triangular section plastic strip I have experimented and created this initial section of anti-pedestrian section. There will be more to go astride the running rails, but the point was proved and these will now be fabricated.

I've also completed the bogies on the two funkeys, these are now ready for painting.

The smaller portaloo has had a plasticard plinth created and it painted grey to represent a kind of slate base. I'm sure you'll agree that it looks much better now next to the larger variety.

Two (the kit gives you two) Mark 2 Quarryman's carriages have been soldered together up to this state - the seats are also done and roofs pre-curved ready. Unfortunately the wheelsets foul the floor (a problem with the kit) so I need to cut some holes for the flanges in the floor. Ho hum.

The Romanian carriage 2060 has had its roof strips added - I used mek pak to melt the plastic onto the brass - enough to keep it in place until the paint goes on.

and the 1st obs 2100 has had its domed roof end added using filler.

The two bike wagons have had their internal doors made in plasticard and brass false door fronts added. All they need now are the bike racks. I've even printed out the bike and luggage symbols to the correct size on my home printer.

and finally... some of you will know that I work in the transport industry. Although I work with buses all the time, I'm not exactly an enthusiast of buses. I'm much more interested in marketing the concept and the commercials underlying it - routes, fares etc.

However, I feel it would be interesting to model the Express Motors open top service that calls at Rhyd Ddu. This is a Brsitol VRT open top and EFE do a model of it. In order to allow an easier repaint I selected the whitest livery I could find - south wales skyrider. However the model comes with no top deck railings, so I purchased (for £2.25) a brynkits conversion kit. This is etched in steel and via some clever folding legs allows the railings to be attached as in the shot below...

I've also been drilling holes in the traversers ready for wiring, which should start tomorrow.

Finally, I have some wagons painted by my fair hand for sale on ebay, go here for more details: http://shop.ebay.co.uk/merchant/colinlea009

Colin

News from roco

I can (exclusively) reveal that the roco 009 ready to run double fairlie will be a model of.....

'Livingston Thompson' now resident at the National Railway Museum.

At the moment the loco is not to be DCC ready, although this may change. It will be to 1:76 scale an thus be 009 rather than HOe. It will cost upwards of £200, but this will vary with the exchange rate of course.

[this has been confirmed by roco to me in writing].

Colin

What's left to do on the layout?

A list of the main hurdles to completion:

1. - Wiring - I need to add the point decoder (a simple matter of connecting wires) - 10 mins or so and then test it all (much longer).
2. - Hidden sidings - the traversers need wiring up (relatively easy with DCC) and brass bolts added to allow easy alignment of tracks.
3. - Backscene - a nightmare that won't go away. I may yet decide to just have a backscene on the edges of the far boards only.
4. - Fencing - in stock and should be no issue to install
5. - Scenic detailing on the car park area
6. - A few final details on the platform such as flower beds, bins, benches (in stock) and the yellow line around the edge of the platform
7. - Road markings (rub-on transfers in stock) for Pitt's Head road
8. - Completion of the water towers (basic structures complete, one tank complete) especially the strappings
9. - Taking a dental pick to the ballasting to remove bits that have welded themselves to the inside of the running rail and reballasting/painting rails where necessary
10. - Doing the same for the point blades and potentially reinstalling point motors where required.

The next areas to concentrate on are 1,2,5,7,9 and 10 as completion of these will allow full testing of the layout. also item is currently easier as that board is the correct way around for access!

Colin

A safe haven for stock

Tonight (as well as finishing the two bike wagons off) I have been experimenting with a new purchase - a KR multicase. http://www.krmulticase.co.uk/railwayuk.html

After much rearranging of the foam inserts, I was able to line them up to take 10 WHR saloons per tray (there are 2 trays):

Then on goes a protective top layer of foam... there is another between the two trays.

and the case closes up with a convenient handle...stock is safe. The two trays lift out with attached fabric handles. A very neat piece of kit and at £27 (free P+P) a decent deal too.

Recommended.

JdF of 'County Gate' put me on to this company, he uses the more expensive aluminium flight cases and info can be found here:

http://www.009.cd2.com/storing.htm

Colin

Kendal

Last weekend, we popped in to the Glos Warks Railway gala. Dad had taken over part of Winchcombe Station for an art exhibition, next to an FR/WHR stand manned my our friends Mr and Mrs Ward (Dad had previously donated the exhibition stand to them) and a display of magnificient 7mm standard gauge models and kits by family friend Dave Andrews (some of the locos were built by Dad).

There was also a small display of model railways and one which stood out was that created by another family friend - Ian Kirkwood. I've known Ian for many years when I used to accompany Dad on trips and evening meetings of the local 3mm scale group, so I may be a little biased, but I'm sure most readers of this blog will agree with me anyway!

His layout is a fictitious narrow gauge railway in the Lake District - 'Kendal' in 009. It's only small, but shows how much can be included in a small space, without the resulting layout looking ridiculous. I didn't measure it, but it wasn't much more than 4 feet by less than 2 feet.

Most of the locos come from Backwoods kits - a Canopus, Hudswell Clarke diesel etc with the odd scratch built creation in the mix too. The stock runs well and looks the part in a believable and tidy livery. Carriages and wagons are borrowed from various kits - Festiniog and Blaenau, Penrhyn quarry opens, Talyllyn Limping Lulus and even a worsley skull and skibbereen coach!

The layout is very well designed to give operational interest alongside clever use of levels. The buildings are fantastic - all scratch built! Scenics are also on the money for me - the tree and grassy areas in the image below show that.

Overall, a very impressive little layout. I struggle to fault it.

Colin

2010 and 2100

Two very important WHR(C) carriages have been missing from my plan - the service/brake carriage 2010 and the new Pullman obs 2100. Well they are missing no more.

On Friday, the etches arrived from worsley works and spare moments during the weekend have been utilised to construct them up to chassis and sides, with roofs ready for application asap.

So, firstly 2010... this is a pretty standard carriage really and so went together just like all the other saloons, it's not the prettiest of designs, but is very important to my planned rakes being a brake vehicle.

and 2100... well this is a different kettle of fish entirely, especially the obs end. The chassis was relatively easy - tabbed battery boxes went on and the skirt at the front (similarly tabbed) required forming into a curve with a buffer beam overlay then added on top. The bogie pivot holes were enlarged and 10BA nuts soldered over them.

The usual system of L shaped assemblies incorporating a 10BA captive nut were put together, although in this instance the obs end ones were just affixed to the carriage main body on the sides only, being curved at the front. After tapping the threads to remove any errant solder, these were put to one side and the doors were folded up and soldered squarely to the sides.

Then I noted an error in the kit... (not Allen's fault as drawings don't exist for the ends and photos were thin on the ground when the kit was being designed) ... on this occasion the roofline doesn't fit over the top of the doors, but is set back flush with them. So the doors came off again and the top fold-over section was removed. Then the carriage end was snipped to straight rather than the top overhang that is present on all other WHR modern carrs. This end was then attached to the doors and the sides and the L shaped section added at the correct ride height.

Then came the front end. Firstly the front has a curved wrapper to fit around the captive nut assembly, this was tacked in place and then joined to the carriage sides to check that all was level and true. It was, so the full semi-circle was soldered on securely.

A clever arrangement is then provided where rectangular section brass strip (provided in the kit) is attached to an assembly which then can be soldered to the front wrapper and forms a base for the domed roof too. Once it's fitted, two sections (which have kept the mini assembly nice and square) are then removed to ensure it looks prototypical. Without this clever assembly the front end would have been a nightmare, but this was actually pretty easy. Once the roof is on the join between the sides and this domed roof base will be more secure, but it's OK for now. So, a section that looked somewhat worrying, turned out nice again.

Colin

tricky criccy

I already have a model of Harlech Castle, which I have altered to allow it to take the new (much improved) farish 08 with outside frames.

This week another Harlech kit arrived to go on another farish 08. why?

Well, because there is no kit available for Criccieth Castle, but it is very similar to its cousin Harlech. Below is an image of the two - the main difference is that the bonnet stretches right across the width of the cab, whereas it is set back on Harlech. The windows on the side of the cab are marginally narrower, but I can't be bothered to alter that.

So I soldered on the sides where they should be and have filled the missing bits. The below shot shows it after the second filler application. There has been one more since, and a final mopping up layer to sort out surface deficiencies will be applied asap. Then it just needs the roof and steps adding and we have another diesel for the layout.

Tro Ffridd

This is a clever image of Tro Ffridd. No it's not a model! The original shot was taken by my friend Roger Dimmick and was altered by a guy called Adam on the WHR forum. I hope neither of them minds me repeating the image here. The effect is created by the breeze-block wall added behind, a blur around the train and some slight alterations to the curves in photoshop.

This technique is indeed very clever and more examples of this idea can be seen here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/automatt/3250878869/in/set-72057594078648378/

or

http://www.flickr.com/photos/automatt/110230819/in/set-72057594078648378/

you can also use so-called tilt-shift lenses to create this effect.

Anyway, I thought it was about time that I showed you all what Tro Ffridd looks like now. The problem is that under the 100W bulb in the garage I get two effects - far too yellow with no flash despite alterations in photoshop, and with flash the ballast and rocks look far too white and over-exposed. So, I've created a slideshow of images taken with and without flash. The real colour is somewhere between the two extremes. enjoy.

Or click here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UGzzxyKZp1s

Colin

Bron Hebog

From Holiday - May 09

[more images are available via the link to my holiday May 09 album in picasa web albums]

BRON HEBOG

My recent holiday to Wales was great fun for many reasons:

• My first chance to ride on a scheduled passenger train from Rhyd Ddu to Beddgelert and vice versa
• A chance to see around Boston Lodge (always fun), see special AGM trains and the boat in action on the FR
• A chance to see the Baldwin and Buffet car, plus the new museum at the WHHR
• and...a chance to see the initial part of Bron Hebog at the Port model show.

and I was not disappointed on any of these fronts (apart from missing the gravity train due to very wet weather and it running 30mins late).

Bron Hebog is the successor to Dduallt, itself a seriously good 009 model. Like Rhyd Ddu, it portrays the WHR in its modern form.

The part on show was basically of Beddgelert Station, but the whole layout is named 'Bron Hebog' to highlight the fact that the station area is just one part of a much larger model of the station, the Cwm Cloch reverse curves and Goat tunnel too.

It is of course not exactly fair to pass judgement on a half completed layout, but the parts on show were of a superb standard. Many photos were taken (a kind of industrial espionage?) which will help me immensely given the similarities of our projects.

Highlights for me were the correct scaling of the PBSSR bridge at the north end and the Goat cutting at the south end (compare that with the 7mm model of Beddgelert seen at Warley recently); the gently undulating and believable fields behind the station; the water tower and station shelters and of course, the stock.

...and it is stock where this project is much further on than I am, helped in part because some of it has run on Dduallt in the past (Russell, Upnor, Conwy etc) but almost all of the carriages have been scratchbuilt in plastic (I think the Romanian carr is a worsley brass kit) which is an amazing achievement given I know how long it takes to create one in plastic, let alone 20 or so! The detailing is also fabulous, with internals given the same qulaity treatment as externals.

There is clearly a long way to go, but this is looking like another iconic layout.

It is understood that it will be seen again at Warley in November alongside the FR and WHR stand. Can't wait.

Colin

from the workbench

The brass angle finally arrived so the other B wagons could be finished. Two will be bike wagons and here is one with its external door fitted, lots more detail to come, including black pictograms of bikes/luggage which I have put together on the PC.

FR obs saloons 100 and 102 are progressing with the chassis done and the sides ready for final assembly. You will remember that I scratchbuilt a 100 earlier in the year and it will be interesting to compare the brass and plastic versions.

A slight bit of layout owners' licence - I bought a Chris Veitch sentry passenger van when at the FR on hols. I already had the peco wagon chassis in stock and so last night I soldered the basic kit together. Detailing and roof to come.

Carr 124 cauised some angst as one side didn't have the rebate necessary to join the two halves of the sides. However it is now ready for a roof.

Colin

progress

Some scenic progress ...the ballast deliveries at Rhyd Ddu tend to pile up behind the water tower, so 'new' ballast has been added there in a pile.


two flower beds have been built from plasticard and populated with rocks and grasses.

this shot shows the two beds.

On the carriage front, fresh off the bench are...the mess car 1000. This is built from an improved worsley kit. The first one (an inferior kit anyway) was recently scrapped by myself as it was the first kit I ever soldered together and it showed!

The two WHR saloons which retain the old style beading are 2042 and 2090, plastic strip was cut and glued on to represent the vents, which are not etched or provided for in the kit.

118 was finished, seats installed and now also has the roof soldered on and domed ends formed with filler.

26 was completed and 22's ride height altered to make sure they look right next to each other.

and, from a new worsley kit, here is 101, the FR obs used (along with 113) on the WHR for the last few years and which has been extensively used with two semi-opens on the crew training runs this year.

Colin

Holiday May 09

Back from holidays: reports soon, but images here for a start

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/colin.lea/HolidayMay09?feat=directlink

Colin