I did the sensible thing and repaired the problem with a bit of a bodge!

I may well have extracted myself from the rabbit hole I was talking about in yesterdays post. The Hornby Hymek could have dug me deep into the World of conversion to DCC, adding extra pickups and detailing the body and chassis/ I did consider all these things and then sense prevailed! I did the sensible thing and repaired the problem with a bit of a bodge! 

This was the problem.

And this was the solution!

Good old superglue! I just used a few drops to secure the copper pickups into where they should be and it seemed to work!

The wheels were filthy so they were cleaned and you can see the rim of the one wheel cleaned in the picture above. The motor itself also got some lubricant. With that the bogie was placed on the oval of track and attached to the coaches that were on it.

I really was not expecting much but it ran and ran well! With that I mounted it back into its chassis and the body went on.

Then back onto the oval for a final test where it ran for over an hour at various speeds and to be honest it was wonderful to watch! Another loco saved from scrap!

This is another rabbit hole I am descending into and I take the blame!

I could blame others but it is my fault! What is that you may ask. Well, whilst running Mr. B's Britannia in around a loop of track on the floor I got three coaches out of a box. 

There was also an old Hornby Hymek in there. Now that is nearly 50 years old and given to me as I posted back in 2022 (click here to see that post). It did run then and so I put it on the track and coupled up the coaches, and turned the power on. It ran for about three inches and died! No amount of prodding would see any life in it so it came on the bench.

These old models are so simple that it is a pleasure to work on them - normally! The Hymek had one screw and two clips and with these undone/unclipped the body came off. The power bogie has one screw holding it to the chassis and that was soon released. I can see the problems as to why it stopped running as part of the bogie and motor mount has broken meaning the pickups don't pick up electricity from the wheels. 50 year old plastic does deteriorate with time. Not sure if I can get a spare or rebuild the broken part or develop some other solution. This is another rabbit hole I am descending into and I take the blame!

I did take a moment to have a drink and found the site's Robin looking for food among the grass cuttings.

Whilst the Rocks By Rail Museum has some major projects going on at the moment with the cosmetic restoration of steam loco Uppingham, the rebuild of steam loco 1931 and the rebuild if the Southern brake van Rob has decided another project needs to be added to the list so he is doing up the Euclid dumper truck.

Much grinding and cutting out of rusty metal has been going on but still much to do Rob!

For me it was back to grass cutting. I missed last week because of the rain but never expected the level of growth that has happened over two weeks. However, a combination of Morris Mower and Sammy strimmer managed to change this...

...to this...

And I continued up the site and outside too! 

I did take a moment to have a drink and found the site's Robin looking for food among the grass cuttings. He took a break from that too!

 Cant see the Robin?

Elsewhere on the site it has been a story of  colourful flowers in the planters on the platform and around the cafe thanks to Sue's hard work...

...whereas Andy's hard work on weed killing has been a story of brown weeds!

And finally, the clam buckets have been emptied of vegetation and rocks added to illustrate what they were used for and that has made a big difference.

All in all things are moving on!

I could watch such scenes all day long!

One of the great things about living in a rural area is the chance to cycle along quite roads in traffic terms. However there is occasional congestion as i experienced out on a bike ride!

I had to wait at least 30 seconds to get going again!

Apparently, Leo the horse just stopped when he saw he JCB so had to be led around it! 

I could watch such scenes all day long!

Back at WMD the cable tie bases have started to be attached using screws to the Last Great Project Layout.

The wiring looms are then just hung off the bases using a cable tie.

It may not look attractive but it works. I could have hung the looms under the baseboards but as the area underneath is used for storage of  junk valuable items there would be the possibility of catching the loom whist moving things. I can certainly live with it and if I cant in the future I can always wrap the wires in a sheaf of somesort.

I was still able to use my trip to the Recycling Centre for a model making related purchase.

It has been a busy few days of vegetational butchery for me. Not that I have been to the rocks By rail Museum where my skills at the butchery of vegetation is now renowned. No this activity has been at WMD HQ where hedges are undergoing cutting and weeds are being pulled. And just to show Mrs. Woody who may read this post, this is just how much stuff has been butchered and went to the recycling centre. 15 bags in total and the rear passenger seats had to be put down to accommodate it all!

Whilst all this may have curtailed model making activities I was still able to use my trip to the Recycling Centre for a model making related purchase. With the wiring looms to the control panel for my model railway hanging in mid air there is a need to both tidy (that word is almost never associated with my Man Cave!) and provide support to them. 

I therefore called into the local ScrewFix (other similar outlets are available, etc.,) where I picked up some of these cable tie bases.

They have a self adhesive pad on the back of them or they can be screwed in place which is probably what I will do with them. Hopefully that will at least tidy that up!

Will it ever end? Its a good job this is My Last Great Project!

I am at the stage of having to sort my workbench out again! As I went through it I swept up just some of the wire casings that I had removed in order to bare the wire itself and solder it. That is a lot of soldered wire ends and I think that is about a quarter of what there was!

Anyway, the bench looks a bit clearer although I have left my soldering kit out as I will no doubt be needing it as I go through the shake down process of the control panel recently built.

Will it ever end? Its a good job this is My Last Great Project!

Betty breaks!

It was Driver 4 a Fiver at the Rocks By rail Museum today and I did Front Of House in the afternoon welcoming guests. It was a nice relaxed day although one of the things to happen was a bit unexpected. Betty the Sentinel loco being used for the Driver 4 a Fiver broke down whilst in mid trip! not good but as normal, the situation was soon resolved with Mr. D being sent on a rescue mission and towed Betty back to the platform.

At first it was thought that she may have run out of fuel so Pete, Pam and John dropped 10 gallons of diesel into the fuel tank.

That did not solve the problem which may actually be a fuel filter or solenoid issue which I am sure the experts will cure next week!

Shunting Betty into the siding for naughty engines meant that Mr. D could be used on the last of our guests wanting to do Driver 4 a Fiver.

We always manage to find a solution!

The trouble with setting up an oval of track like that is it sparks ideas.....

Dropping back onto a project I talked about a couple of weeks ago, Mr. B's Triang Hornby Britannia which he left with me some time ago. The Britannia looked good but it had a dodgy motor. Given that the motor was the old X04 one which was probably well over 40 years old it was time to replace it which I had nearly got to as outlined in this post.

The new and different motor was fitted without many issues despite being different to the original.

This was done whilst I was building the control panel that I have posted about over the last few weeks. What it really needed was a running in session to get the new motor running smoothly with the old running gear of the loco. 

I set up an oval of track on the floor of the Man cave and left it running whilst changing directions and speed. So it runs well and the body can now go back on. Hopefully Mr B will soon be reunited with his loco.

The trouble with setting up an oval of track like that is it sparks ideas.....

Not exactly the James Bond lifestyle but remarkably satisfying for me!

The last few days have been a little like each other with gardening and control panel building being the main focus of activity. Not exactly the James Bond lifestyle but remarkably satisfying for me! Being creative in one form or another is something that most of us get a buzz out of and it is gratifying to see in one case a small seed planted weeks ago and nurtured becoming a plant that can be put in the garden and in another case a load of wire, connectors and switches that becomes a working (almost) control panel for my model railway.

So today saw more home grown plants put out into the garden which has pleased Mrs. W as her drawing up of a jobs list for me is her creativity outlet!

The control panel is now in  place all connected up and going through shake down trials which is another way of saying there are a few things that I need to sort out. Nothing major but the sort of small niggles that can take a bit of time to find where I may have connected the wrong wire!

There are still things to do such as a good tidy up and to get those wiring looms secured to the layout but that will come with time!

I must admit, that using the panel is taking some getting used to as I preciously just poked a point into the right direction for the train. Now I have to look at the diagram on the track plan and think about which switch controls which point. It will become easier with time and unlike poking the points with my finger I don't need to walk up and down the layout to get to the points. Working smarter as I get older!

Not so smart at the moment though is my workbench that is rapidly disappearing under tools, wire, soldering equipment and other things! I really need to be creative and get that tidied up soon!

Nearly finished!

It is mid June and the Summer is here which is obviously why Mrs. Woody turned on the heating today! I must admit I was happy that she did as I was feeling a bit cold too given the current weather! After yesterdays storms and turning on the heat today it feels more like Winter and also the persistent rain today meant that any vegetational butchery (AKA grass cutting) at the Rocks By Rail Museum was a bit pointless so I did not go in.

I have however finished wiring the control panel for my 00 gauge Last Great Project Layout!

I just need to tidy the wires up with some cable ties and then give it all a proper testing! That will be interesting and may lead to generous contributions to the WMD Swear Jar! 

Looking up top it is quite satisfying to see all those holes that used to be there now filled with wired up switches.

Looking at this project, which is tiny in comparison to commercial builds such as ships, does make me wonder how on earth do you sit down and design let alone install the electrical system for a large cruise ship? Much respect to those that can do that work!

Now, back to a nice warm WMD HQ!

At least it is a bit more colourful just like my language was when it hailed!

I'm not talking about building control panels today as to be blunt nothing further got built! However, that does not mean I was not busy as I did a few Mrs. Woody chores that are on her list for me. Despite the weather forecast I got the grass cut in the garden and I started clearing a large flower bed ready to plant out. Now, it is mid June which should mean hot and dry weather. However, that is not the message that the weather appears to have as this happened.

It looks more like mid January than June! It was certainly one large  and noisy thunderstorm with a lot of hail. Luckily I was able to step inside and observe. After about half an hour it all passed over and the sun came out which was a suitable signal to Mrs. W to get me back out to do some planting!

There is a lot more to plant but at least it is a bit more colourful just like my language was when it hailed!

The end is looming!

Well, the end is looming on work with the control panel to My Last Great Project layout! Just 5 wires to finish the last of the seven wiring looms and six switches to fit so a day or so may see that done or in Woody time it might be finished this coming weekend!

The whole project is certainly a complex one and I will be glad when it is finished and working! My previously reasonably clean and tidy work bench has become a somewhat unorganised mess in true Woody style!

I see a need to tidy it looming up once the control panel is finished!

Spot the difference!

It is a bit of a case of spot the difference with todays picture of the control panel compared to yesterday. However, observant viewers may note that three more switches have appeared up top and the complexity of wiring underneath has increased compared to a few days ago!

This is probably one of the most tedious projects that I have undertaken but the end results will or should be worth it if it all works!

I could say that nothing has gone wrong but this is WMD where I tell it like it is warts and all!

Ploughing along with the control panel to my Last Great Project layout and this is the fourth wiring loom of the seven I need to make to be completed.

As each one gets finished a few more point operating switches appear on the panel.

As they do appear they are also tested. Now I could say that nothing has gone wrong but this is WMD where I tell it like it is warts and all! So, there have been two switches that went into the wrong holes but that was fairly easily rectified. Apart from that, the rest of the creation of this panel has been uneventful but slow! Lets hope that continues although a bit more speed would be useful!

Silent Saturady!

Well, silent as far as model making goes although there has been horticultural activity including potting up these Marigolds. They may be late in the growing season but I am catching up!

Of course you cannot have a silent Woody for long!

I just keep in my mind that I am dealing with one wire at a time!

The control panel slowly fills up with wires! It may look complex now but by the end it will look even more complex! I just keep in my mind that I am dealing with one wire at a time! 

I am also trying to keep things looking as though they are organised and tidy unlike my mind where the plan for all of this exists! 

At the present rate of progress I think another two weeks will see it finished and hopefully wotking and working as I envisaged! 

Sammy Strimmer back from the Strimmer Hospital!

On my way to the Rocks By rail Museum today I got a phone call from the Strimmer Hospital to inform me that Sammy Strimmer was now fully recovered and ready to be picked up and so I diverted my journey to do just that.

Back at the Museum, Sammy was pleased to be reunited with his chum Morris Mower and both were soon put to good use! I ventured into the Boneyard where days upon days over the Winter had been spent clearing the vegetation. Unfortunately much has grown back!

However, it is young growth and what took me about four days to clear was cleared with Sammy in about forty minutes!

There is still a lot more to do but with a good head of steam a couple of hours later this month should see what I cleared over the Winter cleared again.

I did note that Sue has emptied the clam buckets of the rather uninspiring vegetation that grew in them and is no doubt on the way to creating something more inspiring.

Did I mention steam? Well, steam loco Uppingham was hauled out of the Exhibition Centre looking somewhat bare as the cab has been removed and now sits at the back of the Restoration shed.

This gives easier access to the firebox and for work on the saddle tank, 

And so David, Alex and Thomas moved in with grinders and wire brushes to remove rust and debris.

Back in the Restoration Shed John is continuing work on the Southern brake van aided by Dave. 

The metal floor is close to being ready to plank in wood and just needs painting.

Further up the Restoration Shed, steam loco Barrington is slowly coming together with pipework and sandboxes receiving a black top coat of paint.

So, another good day at the Museum and one where I go home with a sense of satisfaction!