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.
Recording my progress, or usually the lack of it, in building kits, creating model railways and other related and sometimes unrelated matters!
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.
I have needed to sort this out for years!
The greta thing is that I can now make a similar set up for Chalkdon my 009 narrow gauge layout where this controller will also be used. All I need to do is unplug the USA switching layout wires and move the controller over to Chalkdon. No more twisting wires together or using various clamps to try to make electricity flow!
My unintended and unplanned freight car weathering project is finally finished. I will let the pictures taken on my USA switching layout speak for themselves! Lets just say I am pleased!
A strange day at the Rocks By Rail Museum as when I arrived the gates were locked and a volunteer was waiting to get in. To cut a long story short I had to hunt down a set of keys from a local volunteer and open the place up. Now I knew Richard was into all things steam but I was amazed at what he is building in his garage at home.
This is a quarter scale miniature traction engine which is getting to the point of being finished and being able to be steamed! Strange what you find out about people in the strangest of circumstances! I await the finished engine which may hopefully be on the road next year.
Meanwhile, back at the Museum, with keys in hand I was able to get us into the place and open up to our visitors of which there were a few. I carried on with my usual mower mayhem but to be honest it is beginning to look good on the vegetational front. You can almost see stripes in that grass!
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!
This freight car project has ballooned which is an excuse to include this picture from my early morning bike ride before it got to hot of the first hot air balloon that I have seen this year.
The freight car project has taken on a life of its own! From the simple planned repair of a coupling to the unplanned (that is not unusual for me as Mrs. Woody will vouch) complete weathering of the freight car!
This is how the body looked in bright yellow.
Using a wide soft brush I just streaked dilute brown paint over the body sides.
The fixing of the wagon or in American terms, freight car (never sure how to refer to it in the UK but I guess freight car is probably the more appropriate term) coupling has grown into a bigger job! This is almost always the case with one of my projects! I found some damage to the body moulding with the ladders at one end crumpled
It was going to be a quick put the coupler back and glue the retaining plate in place on one of the wagons off my USA switching layout. As part of that repair I had to remove the bogie and wheels which was held in place with a push in pin.
With the bogie removed this was the descent into something else! I decided to clean the wheels.
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!