A different type of controller.

The controller I am talking about is of course for model railways and whilst normally you either have an analogue, or DC controller or a DCC controller, this particular one combines the two functions. That is unusual. It was designed for those users where they perhaps have a mixed fleet of Dc and DCC locos and want one controller only. Whilst you cannot run DC and DCC at the same time you can split your fleet into DC and DCC and operate them separately but only needing the one controller.

I actually bought this about a year ago but have only just got round to trying it out as I uncovered it during my reorganisation of the Man Cave works recently. I thought that I really ought to give it a go! 

Having used the Bachmann and Gaugemaster controllers previously, this new one is taking a bit of getting used to.as the principals behind the selection of DCC locos, speed and functions is very different. It does run both DC and DCC locos as it claims so that works. As you may tell I am not sure of it yet but I will have a bit more of a play with it and see if it eventually works for me.

There are three main parts - the transformer (not in photo), the power selector box (on the right) and the controller (on the left). They are all small and the controller fits in your hand easily enough and I do actually like the rotary speed controller.

You have to try different things or you wont know you don't like them as Mrs. Woody always tells me! I am not sure how well my argument that I bought this just to try it will work with her though!

Thinking you are going to do one thing and end up doing another!

Yesterday I spent the day at the Rocks By Rail Museum. My thinking was that a final push on a couple of still wild like grass areas with the mower would see the site returned to looking well kept rather than jungle like! Having got the mower out and ready to set off where mowers had not been for some time I got a call from Andy. He had come in to clear a valve in one of the steam locos but his day was about to go from planned to unplanned! He asked me if I could give him a hand as the toilets were blocked! Now in a place like the Museum where we are all volunteers you have to accept that on occasions there will be some less than pleasant jobs to be undertaken but they have to be done.

Without going into a blow by blow account of the issues, we had to take two of the toilets completely out which was not the easiest job as you can tell from the look on Andy's face!  

The cause of the blockages? 

Two of the rim cleaners that puts a dose of cleaner into the water each time the toilet is flushed were in the outlet pipe blocking everything being flushed! How they got there - possibly youngsters? Who knows? Nice! Anyway we don't use those cleaners anymore so hopefully that is the end to the problem. With everything cleared it was time to replace everything and get on with our original plans!

Andy got on with the valve.

I have no idea what it does but no doubt something important!

I got on with mowing - nice and quiet down on the nature trail!

And as we were leaving for the day so was our last guest who had come in a very rare Vauxhall Chevette HS of 1978 vintage. Not seen one of these for years but when it came out it was a wolf in sheep's clothing as it has a 2.3 slant 4 cylinder engine under the bonnet!

Great to see this still on the road!

Tacky Wax - A useful product.

Passing a model shop without stopping and visiting is a crime I informed Mrs. Woody as we pulled up outside such an establishment on an unplanned but coincidental diversion to said shop! I did actually want something - some Tacky Wax. I had bought a tub about 10 years ago but in the last 5 years I have been unable to find it in the chaos of the WMD Stores. Always vowing to buy another I always forget but being in the process of reorgansiing the Man Cave means I had this particular item in my mind again. Luckily the shop had one tub left plus I came away with some Evergreen square strip and some matt varnish. A fairly small haul of goodies but all needed!

So what is Tacky Wax? Well it is a wax like substance which enables you to place such things as figures on your layout but because unlike a glue it never sets hard you can move the figure easily and relocate it. My crude experiment shows that the wax does indeed hold. 

Having bought this tub I can almost be certain that the one I have searched for during the last 5 years will turn up shortly! 

The final piece!

Well the final piece of the Man Cave reorganisation is built! From the pile of wood in yesterdays post this began to emerge.

Built from scrap timber lying about the sides are two floor boards that have been in the garage for about 25 years and the cross pieces are from some timber a neighbour was putting in a skip before I asked if I could have it! It may look a bit  rough but unfortunately my electric sander  decided it had had enough and with a puff of smoke it ceased to function! I will be sanding it down and like the other two tables/trolleys built over the last few days it will be painted grey. I just needed to prove the overall concepts of what I was building before getting the paint out!

So what is this final piece? Well I inherited a number of diecast cars from my Dad. In fact I had bought him many of them. With the chaos of my Man Cave they were mostly hidden away so this, for want of a better description, display rack will at least get them out in the open where I can see them.

I think it works well! Given that all the things I have built over the last few days are from stock with nothing bought it has also been very economical - just in case Mrs. Woody is reading this!

Now it is time to sort out what is left lying about and have a good clean up and then I might actually get back to some model making!

It is coming together!

Slowly from the ruins things are taking shape in the Man Cave. Another table/trolley constructed today to place my USA switching layout on.

 It is on castors so it can be pulled clear of the heater in Winter - if Mrs. Woody allows me to switch it on! 

With Chalkdon in place as well there is certainly more floor space which is what I am aiming for.

There is a final piece in the jigsaw and this pile of wood will form it.

Stay tuned to see what I can create out of it and if it really does come together!

Making space!

As work progresses on my Man Cave reorganisation I have rebuilt the former trolley/table holding Chalkdon and my USA switching layouts to a smaller configuration to hold just Chalkdon. Once the whole reorganisation is complete it will make sense - mainly to me I hope - but there should be more space!

First off I dismantled the old trolley/table into its component parts.

With the parts a new trolley/table was constructed and Chalkdon has a new home!

There is a lot more to do but I have created some space!

3D Printed Crane finished!

Sometimes you just have to take a moment and look in wonder! Yesterdays view was stunning, but no finding that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow even though it looked just a few hundred yards from my vantage point!

 

Maybe if I had a crane I could lift myself to the end! And talking of cranes, despite the continued mess in the reorganisation of the Man Cave, I did manage to finish the 3D printed crane! First off was to colour in the bricks of the plinth using my various coloured pencils.

Then the crane was treated to a wash of Citadel's Nulin oil which I had found during my reorganisation!

Once that was dry it was time for some rust and dust weathering powders to be applied with a soft brush to both the crane and plinth.

Once that was done the plinth and crane were treated to a coat of matt varnish. After that I just highlighted some of the edges of the crane with a dry brushing of gunmetal grey which just makes the detail stand out a bit more. I think it looks good!

I fought the lawn and the lawn almost won!

Thursday at the Rocks by Rail Museum was a day where my battle with the grass was nearly lost with the mower breaking! The front wheels are driven and they pull the mower forward. Well they did until the mower stopped suddenly. Investigating I could turn the wheels 355 degrees in either direction but then they would jam. Time for the tools to come out!

Cover for the drive belt off , wheel off - no going back now!

The ever resourceful John gave me an airline to clean the parts up.

With the muck air blasted out of the way the culprit was discovered. A small stone had got between two of the gear teeth preventing the gear turning. Flicked out with a screwdriver all was well.

A through testing followed and the lawn lost!

Meanwhile these tw wagons had appeared in the platform. Looks interesting and worth a closer look.

What is that poking over the top?

I think that the vegetation is wining here! No I am not going to take the mower in and cut it despite the suggestion that I should!

I later found out that the wagons had been moved to get the tool van out as the track in the platform had subsided slightly and needed packing and jacking.

The track is jacked level with a hydraulic jack and then the ballast is compacted around the sleepers to support it in that level position. Just glad I was battling the lawn and not the track!

Lucky to know Ray!

Leaving the bombsite of my Man Cave in its early stages of being moved around I had a day at the Rocks By Rail Museum. In one of those humbling moments, Ray Bennett, one of the Museums great volunteers brought in something to show us. He is a member of the Saltby Airfield History Group, the airfield being located in Leicestershire and was active as a military base between 1941 and 1948 and is still in use today as a gliding centre. Being built as part of World War 2 it has an extensive history including being the base to America’s 9th Troop Carrier Command during 1944, flying paratroopers of the US 82nd Airborne Division to Normandy as part of the liberation of Europe. With the D Day celebrations last week, members of the American military visited the airfield and in amongst other things presented Ray with a plaque for the Airfield History Group.

Despite his youthful looks, Ray is of an age where he lived through the war years and with so few left who have done that, what better person to accept the plaque. 

I am very lucky to know and volunteer with people like Ray!

There is a full run down on what went on at the airfield last weekend on the South Kesteven Website located here.

 

Having a move around!

Playing in the back of my mind for some time has been a certain desire to rearrange the Man Cave. Put simply I have too much stuff but I am sure there is a better way to arrange it! So at the moment the Man Cave looks like a tornado has struck!

It is never easy reorganising and there is a few days work but out of the carnage will come some sense of normality - to satisfy me anyway until the next move around!