n guage and a Pullman

I belong to a couple of model railway forums and recently in the course of various discussions my interest in n gauge came under discussion. I did talk about the 'rediscovery' of my UK outline n gauge layout back in December and you can find that post here. Further discussion led to memories of a large 2mm fine scale (which is like n gauge but the track is built to a much finer tolerance and scale) called Chee Tor which appeared I think in the mid 1990s. It was different in as much as it was mostly rugged Derbyshire landscape with a railway running through it. It was one of the early railway in a landscape layouts which at the time was very revolutionary. It was also mounted high up so you were almost at eye level with the layout. I can remember being awe inspired when I saw it the first time and determined to build my own version. Yes, that was another unfulfilled dream on the Woody list! Anyway back to the model railway forum and talk then went onto the Blue Pullmans which British rail ran back in the 1960s and actually went through Derbyshire. There is a video of Chee Tor on You Tube where if you go to about 2.40 into the video the Blue Pullman runs through. 

Although a the time the layout was built and exhibited no commercial model in n gauge existed, so it was a scratch built model, fast forward to about 2010 and following the release of the 00 gauge Blue Pullman by Bachmann, Graham Farish released the model in n gauge. I have that somewhere but inconveniently I cannot find it! However I also have the later Western Pullman which is a re-liveried Blue Pullman. 

Given all the talk of n gauge, layouts and Pullmans I felt a need to run one so out it came. A fantastic model and it runs so well with both power cars actually motorised and lighting at each end. 

I can only read a lot of the decals with a magnifying glass - all perfectly formed.

All this talk of n gauge is reawakening my love of the gauge! Oh dear!

Electric cookers and model making!

In my inevitable butterfly manner of working today saw the four pieces of track for the Italeri SU-100 assault gun joined together. No glue required! The method of joining entails two pins at one end of the track and two corresponding holes at the other end. in each. The pins at one end go through the holes in the other track piece and then using a suitably heated instrument of some sort, the pin is melted to form a sort of rivet to keep the two parts together.

With the inevitability of getting into trouble with Mrs. Woody, a ring on the electric cooker was used to heat the tip of a screw driver. This was then used to melt the pins.

This rather poor photo just about shows one pin melted and the other awaiting melting.

Having melted 8 pins I ended up with two finished tracks. I am not sure how strong the joints will be but I will find out when I eventually put them on the tank.

In the meantime I better make sure that screw driver is put away and then there will be no evidence of the use of the cooker - apart from this blog!