On track

With the underlay finished I couldn't put off building the turnout any longer. I had bought a 32"/28" radius turnout kit last year and was worried about the skills required to put it together.

I think I've mentioned before in these pages that I've viewed other modeller's efforts in the flesh and on the blogs and not felt confident that I could do it myself without a comprehensive set of step-by-step instructions. In that regard, Fastracks delivers. The kit came with a DVD with chapters on each stage of the process. I'm a procrastinator, and I built this one in three days.

Some paint, et voila!

Once finished and glued to the sleeper fret I painted the tracks with some brown Krylon spray paint, wiping the tops of the rails with a scrap piece of plywood while it was still fairly wet. I was able to clean up the bits I missed after it had dried with ease using this method too.

Since building this turnout I've discovered through the Stonequarry Creek blog that you can get rail chairs for the point blades to add extra detail. I'm thankful my turnout is in the beginning of a cutting and the layout is at eye level, else I'd be tempted to start it over. Next turnout perhaps.

I've started studying again so my modelling time is limited for the next few months, but the plan is still to pursue tracklaying and wiring as the next steps.

Cheers,

Ben

Underlay finshed!

It's the end of the June Long Weekend and, you guessed it, the track isn't down. But it isn't far off!

Apart from attending the Epping Model Railway Club's exhibition at the Brickpit in Thornleigh, I spent the weekend cutting and fitting underlay to the return loops, gate and the layout itself. Before I get to the layout progress, the exhibition. It was good for different reasons to other shows. The Thornleigh exhibition feels like more of a modeller's exhibition; fewer general public, good quality layouts, and an encouraging vibe. Despite the fewer layouts this year and a noticeable gap that looked like it should have been filled with a layout, I got to meet a lot of the people who belong to the same diesel-era interest group on Facebook, and watch a weathering demonstration that uses such simple techniques and methods that achieve amazing results. I've started this method on an Austrains WHX so I'll post some photos when I finish it. This and the friendly chats I got into with some of the layout operators made it enjoyable and reinvigorated me to do more modelling while I'm away during the week.

Right, underlay.

I bought some Universal Rubber Mat from Bunnings to use as underlay and for about $70 for a 4m x 1.2m roll, it's winning on value over Trackrite. It's 3mm thick and really easy to cut with household scissors too. I've only included photos of the underlay on the layout modules - the others are the same colour, so it doesn't look like much has changed.

Before I could start, I had to cut the holes through the backdrop that I have been dreading. The backdrop has started to lift from the round corners so I was hoping the holes would relieve some of that. They didn't, but they didn't make it any worse either. Small mercies.

Then I added the underlay, trimming with a boning knife from the kitchen that I doubt we've ever used. A sharp stanley knife would work too for this bit.

To attach the two, I used Selley's Kwik Grip (Horizontal Surfaces type) as per the instructions, which was time-consuming but worthwhile to get right. I weighted the edges while they set to prevent curling. It seems to have worked.

I ran out of time for more work on the layout this weekend after that, but I couldn't resist. I had to get the track out.

Next stop, tracklaying!

As the last one for tonight, I got some of the newer wagons out and set them up in the storage road to see what train lengths I can get in there. Bearing in mind that I'm planning on using a few more four-wheelers (mainly S wagons), I'm pretty happy with the versatility for operations that this branch will provide, and with the length I can get in there; the short, colourful trains were what drew me to the era in the first place.

Til next time!

Swing gate and final module complete

This week saw the completion of the final return loop module and the swing gate. I added the staging branch to the module:

Test fit everything:

Tested the gate:

Originally I had only screwed the cross-piece and the vertical piece of the gate arm to the gate module with a single screw in each. This wasn't sturdy enough, so I added a horizontal timber to the top, which is screwed between the gate module's support piece and the triangular pine piece that holds the gate together.

I also added a latch between the gate and the traverser module:

Checked out how it's all going:

 And added some walls to the module and gate to save my sanity if there's ever a derailment:

Before I had to leave for work today I managed to get the module and gate painted:

Next weekend I'm cutting and installing the track underlay. Will leave it for a week or so after that before I start track-laying though; I'm on a bit of a roll at the moment and I'm cautious of trying to do too much too soon. I've been waiting nearly 15 months to run trains and I can see myself throwing it all in if I rush the next stage and stuff something up.

The goal is to have a train running by the Thornleigh exhibition in June so I can start to take advantage of the ever-increasing mountains of rollingstock I'm amassing (for such a small layout). I've brought a Fasttracks turnout kit away with me to solder up this week, and another mid-week project I can get into later on will be converting my Traino 47 to DCC with sound. 

Looking forward to sharing some actual modelling with you all soon too.

Cheers!

Final Module Progress and Building a Swing Gate

This year I've started working in Canberra during the week and coming back home most weekends. The extra 6 hours this brings on the road every weekend is largely confining my modelling to adding a 'like' to other people's efforts on a modelling group I'm a member of on Facebook.

I picked up some putty at the Kaleen Model Railway Exhibition in Canberra two weeks ago, so with any luck I'll have finished the NRY this week that I started a few years ago. I'd like to have a crack at weathering it before my SDS variants arrive this month.

I have some time off coming up soon and I am determined to use it laying and wiring the track. The last obstacle to that stage is the completion of the remaining return loop module. I had been entertaining the idea of using a lift-up and drop-down bridge to allow access until my amateur engineering skills succumbed to my patience. Instead, access will now be via a swing-gate. 

The legs are adapted from my I'm-seriously-over-carpentry design used for the other return loop; 42x19mm DAR pine, braced, fitted with hinges for portability, and with adjustable feet in the bottom to compensate for mounting on carpet.

The module rests on top of the legs. I will eventually secure it, but I won't know where it all will finally sit on the legs until I've finished the gate. The track dangling off to the right will be a staging siding, representing the branch line to increase operations. I had wanted to design all of this module so that it could be scenicked, but right now I just want to get it to a stage where I can run trains. If I'm still keen on the idea of a scenic return loop in future, it can be something I redo.

With some trimming, the module is now in place against the traverser and layout. I'll cut the baseboard where the blue KLY is sitting on the new track in the distance to make the gate. Pivoting from the same spot, the gate will swing outwards from the traverser module towards the bookshelf. 

The next post on the blog will predominantly be photos to explain how this all ended up coming together. Hopefully a little more regularly too.

Cheers,
Ben

Traverser complete

Before I update the next stage of the layout's progress, I forgot to post this photo from earlier last month with the traverser completed. With the track height sitting at around 1300mm off the ground, the legs were wobbling a lot until I added the cross-pieces. I was suprised at just how much bracing the cross-pieces provide. 

I haven't determined fate of the diorama sitting on the bottom shelf. It was scenicked with the standard ground foam and dirt method in 2007. Shameless plug - if you want to read about it, find a copy of the Oct 2007 AMRM (Issue #266) and head to "Creating Realistic Australian Scenery. I'd like to redo the scenery on it as a practice for new methods I've learned since then - static grasses, dirt roads, weathering, etc. - but there's a layout to be built before then.

Cheers,
Ben

Connecting Modules

This week I finished building the last of the module legs, which hold the return loop from the layout to the traverser. This is constructed from 42x19mm DAR pine with three adjustable feet, offset on each 'wing.'

Compared to everything else this far it's a pretty simple design. Yep - at this point I'm over carpentry. It's solid. It's portable. It works.

Job done.

Originally I was going to attach the return loop module to the traverser and layout using two loose-pin hinges per connection. The smallest sized hinge I could get with a loose-pin was 70mm, so I decided to use one per connection and mount it horizontally, which has worked well. An added bonus is that the hinges allow the module a little more vertical wiggle room if I need to adjust the height of the return loop module at the layout's next home in future. 

Between Christmas and now I had a bit of a run of my new Trainorama 48 taking it to a relative's DC layout. I can't add anything more than what others have said, other than it runs quite well and managed grades and loads as capably as the 47 and 49. It does have good, robust detail; nothing dropped off and waiting for you in the box when you open it up. I'm looking forward to converting it to DCC and adding sound in future. The A5 station in this photo is a hand-me-down, and I had arranged it with the G2 goods shed in this configuration for about a week to get an idea for how I eventually want it all to look. The G2 is definitely too big to achieve what I'm after, and I'm now certain the gable-roofed A3 will more adequately represent the country junction station I'm after.

Until next time, Cheers.

Traverser legs completed, plus some actual modelling

Today I got the traverser up onto its legs. Most of the designs you see in this blog I’ve replicated and reverse-engineered from pictures on various people’s blogs. The design for the legs is no different, and although I can’t actually remember which of the many rail forums I saw this idea in, I’ll explain it in a little detail.

Nearly all of the components are built from 42mm x 18mm dressed-all-round (DAR) pine. Exceptions are listed further down.

As the whole layout has to be portable, I needed the legs to be removable. The legs attach to the traverser module through guides which are covered with a 3mm MDF stay. Because I built the guides independently of the traverser design, the screws holding the stays also keep the guides attached to the module.

A 150mm-long piece of 30mm x 30mm DAR timber is attached to the bottom of each leg. At the base of this timber I drilled out a depth of around 25mm and slotted in an M10-thread T-nut. A plastic furniture foot screw with appropriate thread screws into this, giving each leg adjustable height.

I also built a shelf from the leftover timber and MDF, which rests on top of the lower DAR timbers and keeps the legs braced at the bottom. My track height is around 1400mm off the ground, so until I attach some diagonal bracing to the top of the layout it has a pretty solid wobble.

For the first few days after I finished work for the year it rained. This made the humidity in the garage too uncomfortable to start the traverser legs. Determined to do something train-related, I grabbed my Columbia Models 1971 BCW and the Tamiya weathering powders I've had sitting around for a while and had a go. I've detailed this wagon as per Ray Zhu's article in the February 2013 AMRM, and made a few other additions in underframe detail, new roof made from a venetian blind and added brackets for the uncoupling levers.

I used Pack B of the Tamiya weathering powders. I'm not overly impressed with them - the sponge applicator started to degrade before I'd completed the third side. I’m still not satisfied with the roof – it needs more of a red rust colour – but the sides came out well. I shared this photo with another modelling group on Facebook, where a number of modellers pointed out that I hadn’t painted the wheels. There’s another skill to learn! As much as I’d like I can’t say the BCW is finished yet, but it’s certainly coming along. Having read an article on weathering cement hoppers with powders in Model Railroader, I'm keen to try out the 'snow' colour in this pack on my PCC hoppers along with a HB pencil to replicate the weld lines, but that's another rainy day project.

I’ve undercoated the NRY, but that’s going to have to wait until after the next round of the season’s festivities tomorrow night.


Lastly, I hope you’ve enjoying reading these pages this year. I mainly pursue the hobby outside of a club or a regular group of modellers, so your comments and suggestions have been much appreciated.

Here’s to running trains in 2015!

Cheers,

Ben