Not a great deal to report!

Not a great deal to report! The card top for the bridge/tunnel structure has been painted with rattle can primer to represent the tarmac of the road going over the structure....

...and the side profiles of the background hill have been roughly cut to shape out of card. This will form the base and support for the polystyrene that will form the shape of the hills.

Hopefully more to report in the next few days!

In Ya Face!

Looking for something, I came across this kit I built back in 2005 which is now 20 years ago! Time does fly! Despite its age and being dusty I still have fond memories of building this kit. It is a Revell Mercedes 1628S Truck in the unusual to Europe scale of 1/25th scale which because of the large size of the completed model does make it look smaller compared to a similar Italeri kit truck in 1/24th scale. 

Never the less, I did build this as a British truck that would be used to haul across to mainland Europe hence the left hand drive configuration. It was also a model that I did a few additions to with aftermarket parts and decals. There is the lady on the grill, the TIR plate.....

....whilst inside the cab there were tax discs, papers and documents as well as the CB name of In Ya Face! which I just came up with based on the garish paint scheme!

I even added the suzies on the back which are the air and electrical connections to the trailer brakes and lights.

Apart from a good clean and one of the rear mudguards needing gluing back on, this model has survived well and it still has that charm that I thought it had all those years ago when at one time it was on the now defunct Truck Model World Forum! Now theres' a claim to fame!

All in a day at the Museum!

The Rocks By rail Museum cannot be accused of not being innovative. I have posted before about the oversized washing machine, otherwise known as a concrete mixer! This is used to wash ballast and if you wonder if ballast can get dirty you should see what comes out of the mixer apart from the clean ballast!. One of the weak areas of the concept has been the discharge shoot. Various concoctions have been put together over the years but all have eventually failed. So, this Winters task is to sort that out with a bespoke heavy duty shoot and welder ace Rob is getting on with it.

A good strong frame of L shaped metal attached to the mixer itself means it should be strong enough to put up with the battering it will get.

 Of course, with any such project, there is a need to admire the work as Andy, Alex and Rob do!

For me, I was not admiring the overgrowth in the two storage sidings.

So, out came Sammy Strimmer and vegetational butchery ensued!

Now, I do have to admire that! Just need to get between and under the wagons next! All in a day at the Museum!

Inspired!

Having taken a break with DCC chipping the class 150 DMU it is back to the bridge/tunnel structure and I am inspired to get on with it!

Firstly I needed to deal with a bow in the back of the tunnel top

Constructing a card girder was the solution.

Once glued in place straightness was restored!

Hi

Moving onto the bridge part I added some wooden quadrant to act as a stiffener and support for the top.

One each side should do the job so I had to find some more quadrant! Next on the list is the top I think.

Just what I hoped!

Having thought about the issues with the electrical pickup of the Bachmann Class 150 that I posted about yesterday, my conclusions were keep it simple as to any solution. Some Googling had shown that the issues I was experiencing were not unique. One solution involved soldering wires from the bogie pickups to the circuit board contacts which is probably very robust. However, before breaking out the soldering iron I wanted to look at a couple of things. One was the wheels in the bogie and the pickups. Having tried to run the motor using a 9volt battery making contact with the wheels I noticed that the level of motor running seemed dependent on pressing the wheels in certain directions which indicates a pickup issue. Turning the chassis upside down, the bogie frames were removed.

What was revealed was not good! Lots of shiny oil.

It may be good for the gear wheels but was not good for the contacts! Both ends were the same. The excess oil was mopped up. The contacts and backs of the wheels cleaned with some contact cleaner. Then the bogies were put back together and the chassis turned right ways up. This allowed me to use masking tape to hold the circuit board contacts in place and permanently rubbing the bogie contacts. 

Not sure how long this will last but it worked and the unit runs like a dream!

Whilst the bits were out of the box. I added snow ploughs and scale couplers to each end.

They made a big difference to the front end.

And on the layout it looks even better!

And this has given me the boost to get back to the bridge /tunnel structure! Just what I hoped!

However, in true Woody style it has not quite gone to plan!

Sometimes you find a project that you are working on just does not seem to flow. You have done similar things before so it is not as though you don't know what to do and how to actually do it. But, for what ever reason, the project just does not come along and your mindset is not with the project either. That is the way I am with the bridge/tunnel structure I am building at the moment. It is not the first time I have or indeed other modellers have gone through such a thing and it won't be the last. We all have different ways to deal with the problem. Mine is to usually put the project to one side and do an easy and quick to show results project which usually gives me the lift and inspiration to get back to the original project.

So that is what I have done! However, in true Woody style it has not quite gone to plan! The plan was to DCC chip a Class 150 DMU that I had bought second hand/used/pre loved (take your pick!) about 15 years or so ago.

I payed just £85 for it which was a good price then and considering that the new ones today are £200 to £250 even Mrs. Woody would have to say it was a good buy!

The detail and paint finish are superb!

To fit a chip was simply a matter of taking the top off. However, the two screws at the rear are small and deep set down a narrow opening. Finding a screw driver that fitted was a pain but eventually the screws were undone and the top came off revealing the circuit board.

Access to the chip socket was easy and it was all marked up which was a nice touch.

The blanking pug was removed and a 21 pin DCC chip fitted.

Everything was going great! Or so I thought!. Testing on the track revealed that it ran like a stuttering rabbit! It would go, then stop then go, stutter, then go and so on. Clean the wheels I though. No difference. Lubricate the motor. No difference. Eventually I traced the issue to the electrical pick up system.

The bogies transfer power by copped uprights arrowed with the horizontal arrow. These 'wipe' on the copper strips on the green circuit board with the vertical arrow. The system is not good and despite cleaning it and a slight improvement in performance there needs to be a better system which I will have to think about! At least it has taken my mind ff the bridge/tunnel structure! 

What can £7.99 buy?

You may know the feeling that you actually pocess something but no matter where you look you just cannot find it. Well, that is my situation with a set of callipers I know I have but for years have been unable to find although I suspect they may soon turn up now I have done this! And 'this' is to buy another set! Going into Lidl to buy a pint of milk meant walking through the Middle of Lidl and I usually look at the tools on offer. This time there were these digital calipers at £7.99! The milk, calipers and a number of other things that Mrs. Woody thought essential came home.

What can £7.99 buy? Well actually a lot in this case.

You get a sturdy plastic case, instructions which I may read when I can't get it to work, and the caliper.

There is even a pre-fitted battery which to activate you just pull out the plastic protector rather than undo the screw as I did. Must read those instructions!

The display is nice and clear and as with most calipers you can measure internal and externaly which will be great for model making activities, especially back to back wheel measurements on rolling stock. I'm impressed!

More to do but going in the right direction!

A bit of a lazy weekend but I have managed to mock up on the layout the various parts constructed so far for the bridge/tunnel structure. It looks OK to me which is good as I really don't want to start from scratch again!

So, more to do but going in the right direction!

I expected an Autumnal day.

Taking some time out after five heavy days of painting the lounge and one day of extensive grass cutting operations at the Rocks By rail Museum, Mrs. Woody and me ended up at Easton Walled Gardens which I have posted about before. Always a great place to walk around or just sit and watch the robot lawn mowers at work with a backdrop of stunning gardens and scenery (why doesn't the Museum have a robot lawn mower but then again as Mrs. W says I am like a robot on occassions!). Anyway, given the time of year, I expected an Autumnal day. 

The display at the welcome sign said Autumn.....

The display in the court yard said Autumn....

However, the weather and the vegetation said otherwise!

And then this bee landed on my leg seemingly thinking it was some form of vegetation as though it is still trying to pollinate plants!

I was pleased to be able to get this picture - most of the time insects fly off before I have a chance to get my camera out!

Well this weather is said to continue for a while so I guess I may see a few more bees out and about although it is just not right for Autumn!

Boiler gone!

A most welcomed rest from painting the lounge with a day at the Rocks By Rail Museum !

One major change since last week is that the boiler from loco 1931 has gone! Not stolen but taken off to a boiler specialist who will be fitting the tubes and doing a few other jobs which will push the return to steam well along! It also gives the opportunity to tackle some rust hidden by the boiler as Martyn is doing.

A bit of an unusual view from the cab footplate to where the firebox should be. Hopefully that lump of coal in the bottom right of the photo will find a use once the boiler has returned!

Meanwhile, paintbrushes have been busy on Barrington with top coat green looking good on the saddle tank and starting on the cab sides.

The front is now finished in top coat yellow which is how this loco was finished when in operation. I believe there are green wasp stripes to be applied yet!

Moving elsewhere, the cab of the monster drag line Sundew, has had more ancillary parts fitted like the electrical distribution board that to the side of Rob and Alex.

Rob also spent some time on greasing the drag line ready for next week. Never an easy or clean job but very necessary!

Rob was also keen to show me his now 'fitted' out van after I made comments to him last week about how unorganised it was! Looks good bit that Barbie bag is still there!

And finally, for me, it was a few hours of lawn mower pushing!

Most relaxing especially after days of painting!