Dogfish wagon?

Today was going to be my day at being a shunter - had the Rocks By Rail Museum been able to open. As I posted some days ago it can not open so today I played with the oversized washing machine cleaning ballast!

There is a lot of clean ballast needed yet, just around this point will need about ten to fifteen tons.

Luckily, we can at least now use the Dogfish ballast wagon to get the ballast up into the platform area.

Why is the wagon called a dogfish? Apparently, the term "dogfish" was a telegraph code used by BR to refer to this particular wagon type, along with other "fish" names for different types of civil engineering vehicles. So there you go!

Anyway, as you tell by the pictures, it was a wet and I mean wet day. Not only the rain made me wet but the water from the oversized washing machine managed to soak me too! So I am off to warm up in a pleasant hot bath!

Grey day!

Not a great deal of time for modelling activities today but I did manage to get a coat of grey paint on the hidden siding structure. I did semi take it apart to make life easier. 

Once it is dry I can screw it all back together and get it back on the layout. 

I still need to paint the frame for the top of the structure and get a covering on it but that is for another day!

94 and still going strong!

I have posted about Ray Bennett from the Rocks By Rail Museum before - see here for that post. Ray is one of those people who relishes life, has lived it to the max and has a memory full of experiences, exploits and knowledge and is someone who everyone just loves and I am privileged to know him! 

He has celebrated his 94th birthday and hes is still going strong! Seeing how much the Rocks By rail Museum has played in his recent life he had his party there and all the volunteers were invited! 

Looking good for 94 Ray!

I'm not sure quite how big his family is but it is enough to fill the Sundew Cafe and overflow outside! 

A great day was had by all celebrating another year in Ray's life. 

I had to leave early though as the Museum just is not going to be ready to open on Sunday so I had to go round and cover up all the banners I put up last week! It is disappointing not to open but it is the right thing to do and in a couple of weeks we will be back to normal!

What's that then Woody? Part 2

What's that then Woody, Part 2, sees the top of the hidden loops structure take shape.

On a seemingly strong streak of things going right, this slotted into place just as I had planned!

It just needs a top adding to it and painting grey and it will be finished. 

Looks very similar to a model railway baseboard  - now there's a thought as to what to put on it!

What is he doing

Another day at the Rocks By Rail Museum where there is a lot of track laying activity! 

Richard was busy drilling holes in the ends of rail so that fishplates could be bolted in place.

It is a technical process to get track laid properly with a spirit level being used and several 15 ton bottle jacks to lif the track level.

With the track level it is time to pack ballast under the sleepers and then around them to support the track. Freshly washed ballast is being added, transported up the line on the platelayers trolley which saw a lot of carrying duties during the construction of the viewing platform.

We had a bout 300 tons of used dirty ballast delivered which is a big pile.

And this is some of the rubbish we pick out before it even gets to the washing stage!

Whilst I left the track laying and ballasting to those who know what they are doing I got on with the never ending grass cutting tasks! Interestingly, I had the company of this male pheasant and his lady friend for much of my mowing time.

They are probably wondering about my mowing activity, what is he doing? I wonder that sometimes as well and no doubt Mrs. Woody does but not just about the mowing!

Whats that then Woody?

When you construct something like this...

...you do get asked what it is. It is difficult to answer apart from its for my model railway. It is only when you fit it to the baseboard that it explains itself - well to me anyway!

It is a cover for the hidden loops! Well the base for it anyway!

This took a lot of thinking out - never my best point. Clearances are tight and there is a need for thinks to fasten to each other and for the whole lot to be able top be removed if I need to deal with a derailment or maintain the track.

My solution was to have cross bars between the upright front wall and the back and my further solution to secure them was tabs that slide into the gaps that I left in the horizontal support that I fastened to the profile board yesterday.

It does actually all work! Yes! I amazed myself too!

Taking a step back and placing the brick paper covered card wall that I started making some time ago and the whole thing makes more sense in this picture then my words could ever!

I just need to make the top cover now!

This took a while!

 It may not look that much but there are quite a few hours of work in this profile board that is now fitted to the baseboard of My Last Great Project layout that I am currently working on. Normally it would be a cut to size, paint and screw in position job.

However, you may notice the batten running along the length of it which has slots at the back of it. That is the bit that took some time. You may further wonder what its purpose is - I certainly wondered that as I constructed it! All will be reveled, hopefully, later this week but it is taking some time so in true Woody style that few days may become weeks!

Not at all a usual Woody experience!

 Pointless? Well, not anymore! The point motors that I started preparing the other day are now fitted to the baseboard and just need the wires connecting to the central connector.

So far I am surprised at just how uneventful this wiring job has been - not at all a usual Woody experience! No doubt things will get back to their chaotic normality before too long!

The Banner Man!

Well, a week today the Rocks By Rail Museum opens with brake van rides which will hopefully be on the newly laid track that I have posted about over the last few weeks. For reasons far beyond me, I have ended up dealing with the advertising banners for the past few years. To save money on new banners each year I have taken to keeping the old banners going by amending dates on them. Luckily, the events follow a similar pattern each year which makes altering them relatively simple. However, with some uncertainty as to quite what will be finished on site and the effect that will have on events I had to amend the banners a little more this time. However, they get the message out there that the Museum will be open! Well, they do now as I dragged Mrs. Woody out with me and we made the grand tour to put all six sets of banners out. It was six months ago that I last did this to bring them back in at the end of the season but I will now be out every two to three weeks doing the same run changing the banners as the years events progress. Just call me The Banner Man!

Time for some point motors!

Still getting over the shock of having managed to connect up all the track power feeds without any issues (so far!) on the baseboard that I am working on from My Last Project 00 gauge layout, I am now dealing with the point motors. I pre-prepared them by fitting an extension pin to the activating rod.

That done I also attached the Peco mounting plate which makes fastening the motor to the baseboard much easier. 

With that done it was time to wire up the first one so that it can be attached to the baseboard. Much easier to pre-wire them on the bench than struggle once they are fastened to the baseboard. Working smarter not harder as I get older! I use a three core wire from Gaugemaster which again makes life easier and the only additional wire I need to add is a small loop between the two common returns on the two sides of the motor's solenoid.

Hopefully fitting the motors to the baseboard will follow on from the ease of the connecting of the power feeds!