A surprise find!

I was searching for something in the usual chaos of the Man Cave when I came across this box.

I do tend to forget about things I have but once rediscovered I can usually recall the story behind them. In this case I bought them at the Nottingham Model Railway Show back in about 2004. I had just bought a Union Pacific sound fitted loco at the show, which was the firs sound loco I ever had, and wanted something for it to haul. This box was on the Club second hand stall and £15 bought it.

So what did I get. Well this is a Kato kit for three wagons which had all been built. 

The box still had the instructions which showed that they were a relatively easy kit with no glue required as the box states.

You can tell these were produced in a different era - take a look at the last page of the instructions with contact details for Kato in the USA. No email, no website, just an address for snail mail and phone and fax numbers!

These are the three hopper cars that were in the box.

Well put together and rather attractive - well to me anyway!

Even though they depict 70 ton capacity hoppers they are small in comparison with my other freight cars, as you can see in the photo above, but that makes them even more attractive!

They also come with Kadee couplers which is great and means they can get working on my USA switching layout straight away after 20 years in their box - certainly a surprise find!.

Meanwhile, I rest my back, from a day of filling the new log store. That lot should keep Mrs. Woody warm for a few weeks at least but I will be surprised if she finds the log store on a cold wet day - that is my job!

 

Something new!

Something new arrived at the WMD HQ the other day unfortunately when Mrs. Woody was in and able to  it before I could secrete it and claim later that I had had it for years! However, being busy with the building of the monster sized log store, which is slowly being filled....

I have only just had the time to look at the new arrival and it is this.

With prices for models going up a lot recently I tend to buy second hand. However, every so often there is a bargain that is irresistible to me and this was one of them. Hornby had it discounted on their website from £458 to £275. Now whilst £275 is a lot of money and I was lucky that my modelling piggy bank had some funds in it, it is a saving of 40% and as I had some Hornby points on my account the cost was even less to me. £275 could have bought me a DCC sound fitted loco but with this pack I get a Class 67 diesel, four coaches and a DVT (Driving Van Trailer) with lighting all in matching Transport for Wales livery. It is actually a scale length train as I found out when I visited the Transport for Wales website here.  I think that, at todays prices, is a great bargain. I just need to find time to get the loco DCC chipped and get it on the track and running!

That took some effort!

Well that took some effort but the log store is finished!

Todays jobs were the roof, sides and floor - simple!

The roof was made of five used floor boards that had been the roof on my old conservatory, edged with some donated 2 x 1 timber.

Then covered with some felt salvaged from when I demolished a shed three years ago! I knew it would come in handy one day!

Getting the roof to the back of the house was a back breaking journey but my fears of getting it in place were unfounded. Once leaned up against the end of the log store it was just a case of sliding it in place and miraculously it fitted - almost as though I had planned it!

With that in place just the sides and floor to do. The sides are some old pallet wood and the floor the last of the floor boards.

And with that it was finished and so was I! However I did have enough strength left to inaugurate the log store with the first logs to go in! Just a whole host more to move into their new home. However I think I will rest my back for a day or two - That shouldn't take too much effort unless Mrs. Woody has other plans for my rest time!

More log store building!

Last week I was sweating in the heat and today I almost had to put another layer on as it was getting cold but the log store build progresses!

Additional uprights and cross members have been fitted to make the structure more stable.

Then the back pieces were fitted. As I am building this out of what I have there is a mixture of timber but I am working on the principal that the gaps give the air the ability to circulate drying the logs. Fitting these parts was made easier by cutting a couple of spacing pieces that were temporarily screwed onto the uprights meaning the plank of wood was supported as I drilled and screwed it in place - working smarter not harder as I get older!

The back is in place so just the roof, sides and floor to do! 

Hope it warms up a bit tomorrow!

Why at the hottest times?

Why I always seem to choose the hottest of weeks to start on a major physical project is a question that I cannot answer but it always seems to happen! At the moment I am building a monster of a log store for WMD HQ. Now I understand whilst I refer to it as a monster to some others who have large log storage requirements it may be seen as just a piffling small store but it is double the size of my present one, which at 20 plus years old is about to collapse! I also have piles of logs and timber for burning all over the place so hopefully it will all be able to be gathered in this store and kept dry.

Anyway, on the basis that I will use what I have, much of the stock of timber that I saved from other projects has gone into this one. The photo below shows the base which is 4 x 2 inch timber salvaged from the shuttering to the base of my Man Cave. I knew it would come in useful and with the price of timber these days its saved enough to be not so guilty about that next train!

Being such a large and dense timber there is some weight in that base!

This is where it is going but as you can see this has become the WMD building materials and scrap storage area.

After a clean up it looks better!

Having nearly dehydrated from carrying the base around, it is in place!

To stop the possibility of rot from damp, I raised the base on five of these old cut down fence posts. And to try to stop those rotting I have put a layer of roofing felt on the side that lays on the concrete slabs.

With those in place it was time to attach the uprights and then the preconstructed top which was not easy to lift in place!

With the top fastened in place I could fully appreciate the size of this!  Still much to do like sides, back ,floor and roof but I think I have dealt with the most physical parts now!

I wont be able to do any more until next week probably but hopefully it might be a bit cooler by then!