Until you start looking at these things are asking questions you just take things for granted!

 Carrying on from the strap line to yesterday's post, you always learn something new. Take this view of the chassis of steam loco 1931. You can tell from first glance that it is big bit of engineering with massive bits of metal all designed and made to come together to become a steam engine.

However, take a closer look and ask someone like John who has worked with such machines for more years than he cares to remember and you find out about the delicacy of the lubrication system to the wheel bearings.  It is not just a sealed bearing that modern vehicles have but with the tiny copper pipes and various brass fittings it is a continuous lubrication system feeding the bearings with oil designed to work in harmony with all that big engineering. 

Until you start looking at these things are asking questions you just take things for granted!

Things are moving on with the Southern brake van where the floor is just about finished and work has started on the repair of the sides with new wood being inserted.

Across the tracks from the restoration shed, steam loco Uppingham continues to get painted . The firebox is now black...

...and the buffer beam looks rather smart in red although it will be brighter when it gets the top coat.

Walking through the Exhibition Centre I noticed some new wiring which has all the hallmarks of Steve as it is so neat! I believe this is another part of the colour light signal project or maybe it is some sort of clandestine monitoring system to see how long I spend in the cool of the Centre!

One of the positive aspects of the current heat wave is that the grass is not growing! In fact it looks dead! 

Although I did bring Morris Mower out and butchered some remaining straggly grass I did use the opportunity created by t=dead grass to tidy this area up. After a few hours it was looking a lot tidier.

For how long is another question though!

As they say, everyday is a school day and we certainly learnt a bit more!

A drive out with Mrs. Woody took us on an unplanned journey that usually results in the discovery of something of interest. In this case it was Lincolnshire's smallest church, St. Andrews in the now long gone village of Scott Willoughby. There are only a couple of farms, the Rectory and the church left. The original settlement dates back to being mentioned in the Doomsday Book and medieval finds have been made around the area as well as aerial photography revealing the sites of various buildings and field boundaries. 

The church itself, whilst far from an imposing building has a charm especially on a sunny day. 

The church yard has only a few gravestones and this one caught my eye as Mr Sly lived to 104 whilst his wife lived to 83. There is certainly something to be said about living in the countryside and from what I understand, the Sly family is a long-standing, prominent dynasty heavily tied to Fenland agriculture and history. With roots dating back to the 13th century in the region, the name evolved from the Middle English word sleight (meaning wise, clever, or skillful) and has been prominent in towns such as Spalding, Crowland, and the Fens for generations.

I'm sure Mr. Sly would be interested to see that the harvest has already commenced thanks to the hot weather.

As they say, everyday is a school day and we certainly learnt a bit more!

Maybe the heat of this heat wave is useful!

With ice cream consumed and the heat of the Man cave having done its work the sand applied to the PVA was fixed in place. The last of the profile sides was added at the lowest point of the diorama base. I had avoided fixing it in place before so that I had a clear path with the PVA and this profile board is higher than the so far constructed scenery,

The reason for that is that this part of the diorama will supposedly be the edge of the water that the Panzer Ferry operates in.

With the profile board fully glued in place I sealed the edges with a bead of PVA glue. At this point I am not sure if I will use PVA for all the water as it supposedly dries clear or whether I will use a varnish. What is sure though is that either material will need to be built up in layers with each drying before the next is applied. Maybe the heat of this heat wave is useful!

Now its time for another ice cream as I let the glue dry!

With the brown base coat dry on the diorama base it was time to add some texture with my usual medium of dry sand spread onto a coat of PVA glue.

Some newspaper under the diorama means that any excess sand can be collected and put back into the container for reuse - saves on sweeping up too!

To spread the sand more evenly I used an empty garlic granules jar which I liberated before it ended up in the recycling bin!

Once the base was covered in sand I added a dilute coat of P_VA glue using an old syringe. That should hold any sand not directly in contact with the base coat of PVA. Now its time for another ice cream as I let the glue dry! 

Now out of the Man Cave to let that dry and off for an ice cream!

A cooler day meant that the Man cave was enterable which meant I could progress with the scenic base for the Panzer Ferry. It was just a case of painting the white plater with a thinned brown base coat to take away the whiteness! Normally I would mix the paint into the plaster as I mixed it but in this case I had ready mixed plaster so I missed that out.

It looks a bit stark but when dry and then covered all will be well!

Now out of the Man Cave to let that dry and off for an ice cream!

The scenic base moves on.

Work continues on the base for the Panzer Ferry with the base receiving some profiles to the sides. made from mounting card I sprayed the inside surface with acrylic primer to seal it as there would be some more filler added to bring the base and profiles together.

As I had used foam for the main structure I used some special UHU glue designed to stick polystyrene type products without melting them. Pays to know what is available!

Once those were stuck in place the gaps were filled with more filler.

I will need to let that dry and then paint the surface which is a job for tomorrow as the Man Cave has reached temperatures even saunas have trouble getting too!

Cool cat! Cool car!

Cool cat! Cool car! Riding a bike brings you into contact with all sorts of things you might never normally see. Take my recent ride on a hot July day.

First off, I saw in the distance something that I didn't think looked right! Maybe it was a mirage given the desert like heat! 

However getting close it was a Canadian Sphynx a hairless breed of cat.

Cool looking cat and in the heat of the day it must have been cool with no fur!

A bit further on this rather cool car was in a car park.

It is a Kei Car from Japan. This is the smallest car that can legally use the motorways of Japan and is designed to a maximum size allowed in many Japanese cities where road space is minimal. Talking to the owner who loves it, it has 4 wheel drive and air con with a maximum sped of 60mph so it does about 60 miles to the gallon. A grey import from Japan it is in superb rust free condition for a 10 year old vehicle. A cool car and a cool Kei! Just wish I had that air con as I cycled home!

Absolute perfection in vegetational butchery!

It may refer to the gradient of the line but to me this sign probably indicated that I was on a hot and sweaty trip up the line with Morris Mower and more on that later!

You may recall from last weeks post regarding the Rocks By Rail Museum that Alex had started painting a cylinder cover from steam loco Barrington and this week that is now in place and very smart it looks.

However, even more painting has been going on and this loco is really coming together.

Black and yellow stripes at the front...

...and at the rear green and yellow! Now3 there have been questions raised regarding the green stripes but research does show that this was the colour used.

Elsewhere, more painting was going on with Uppingham get its wheels undercoated.

You would think that once something is painted that is it. Unfortunately paint does deteriorate with time and Graham the Sentinel is showing signs that its approximately ten year old paint has reached its end!

Despite the coolness of the Exhibition Centre on one of the hottest UK days in July, I did eventually venture out with the mower to cut the things that were still growing!

Apart from the fact that I was probably watering what remained of the grass with the perspiration running off me eventually I got it done.

Absolute perfection in vegetational butchery! Hopefully that wont need cutting for a bit now!

Control Panel YouTube video!

Despite the near sauna conditions in the Man Cave, the WMD Film Crew (me) bravely worked through the heat to create another epic, well sort of, video about the control panel for my 00 gauge Last Great Project Layout now also known as Woodville Junction! Watch it here or go to YouTube.

Rippendale Station

 Mrs. Woody and I went for a drive the other day with no planned route and no idea of what we might come across and these can often be the best journeys. This one proved to be one of those. Taking a turn down a dead end road called Fen Road just outside the village of Rippendale for no other reason then to see what was at the end of it! Just a bit down the road I saw this. 

It looked like an old railway station building and further back was what looked like an old goods shed. The driveway gate also looked a bit like a level crossing gate. Just a bit further on all was revealed!

Another level crossing gate and what is that in the background? Platform? Locomotives?

Whilst not being able to get close to the loco as it is in a private residency, a bit of internet searching brought up some details with a potential connection to the Rocks By Rail Museum! There is conflicting information but it does appear that this loco is Elizabeth an Avonside 0-4-0ST Works No. 1865 and built in 1922. 

In the background there is what appears to be a Janus. Obviously there is some interesting history to the former station and the locomotives which I will be looking at. However, in the meantime, it was just a great journey even if we never got to the end of the no through road!