The problem with Summer!

The trouble with Summer is that I get involved in outside jobs (some of which even appear on Mrs. Woody's list of tasks for me) as you need the better weather to do them although at the moment the weather is not exactly glorious! However it does mean that model making time is limited so at the moment not a great deal is getting done in the Man Cave. However I do at least have the satisfaction of  getting some big outside projects done. Last week was the log store completed and filled and this week the old log store has been partially demolished and a wood store (for useful wood that I could use one day!) half the size has been built from the best bits. 

There is still a lot of rubbish to sort out and a trip to the scrap yard to weigh in my scrap metal is needed but it is looking better. Hopefully it will be a long summer!

I did find some time to do a WMD YouTube video but more on that tomorrow - hopefully!

On the track!

The Hornby Transport for Wales train pack is finally on the track for its first run. Having DCC fitted the loco and detailed the buffer beam I thought that was all that was required. However, I do need to add a DCC chip to the DVT (Driving Van Trailer) so that the lights which are fitted to it, turn red or white depending on its direction of travel. At the moment they just stay white which is not right if the DVT is at the rear of the train rather than heading it. There is also some buffer beam detail to add. I decided the desire to run the train was too much to be delayed by these jobs so I will, in my inevitable way, do those later!

As a six vehicle train it is just the right size for my 00 gauge layout and I really do like the livery which is simple but in my view stunning!

 The DVT looks good too and the train can run in either direction without having to run the loco round the train.

It looks really great on the track - I like that!

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!

 

Buffer beam detail.

Most modern model locos come with a detailing pack that includes parts for the buffer beam - hoses, couplings and similar. Usually I do not fit these but having looked at the Class 67 in the Hornby Transport for Wales Train Pack having fitted the DCC chip I thought that it was worth having a go.

This is what the loco looks like before any details are added.

This is the content of the detailing pack with enough parts for both ends of the loco. However you cannot have a working coupling to couple up to the coaches if you fit the details. However as the loco will only ever run with the coaches in one direction I decided to detail the front end that is seen and fit the coupling at the other, relatively, unseen end.

Using a few spots of superglue, the various parts were added and they do make a noticeable difference. Well worth the effort!

Chipping a 67!

With the Transport for Wales Train Pack having arrived I need to DCC chip the Class 67 loco before I can run the train. In theory a simple job having actually read the instructions. 

Undo four screws, lift body off, remove 8 pin DCC plug, fit DCC chip and reverse the other steps.  Simples! Well actually most of it was. The hardest bit was getting the body to lift off the chassis even with the four screws removed.

With the body off the inners were exposed which does look electronically very impressive!

With the 8 pin plug removed it was time to fit the DCC chip.

I used one of my Lais chips from the WMD Stores and there is plenty of space to fit it.

With the chip in it was, as already stated, a simple reverse of procedure to get the body screwed back on. A quick test with a 9v battery confirmed all was well for the programming stage that will come later.

 

RIP Holly cat.

A week ago Holly cat was a bit under the weather. A trip to the vets found nothing wrong and for a few days she picked up a bit before on Tuesday starting to go downhill. By Thursday it was obvious that another trip to the vets was needed. Mrs Woody took her as I was at the museum. Blood tests revealed nothing but a scan revealed fluid on the lungs and around the heart. Unfortunately for Holly things would go down hill further and much more quickly. I went straight to the vets and Mrs. W and me made that hard decision that she would only suffer if we didn't make that decision. After 14 years she parted with us as we held her at 6pm to have sweet, pain free dreams. Now under the apple tree with all the other WMD cats that have passed on, she can rest in peace. Love you Holly! Never forget you!

Film set and reading matter!

Yesterday Mrs. Woody and myself had a day out at Belton House and gardens. A wonderful place to walk around and of course there are some shops run by the National Trust, one of which is a second hand book shop. Always worth a look round even if you don't find anything to buy but on this occasion I did and one is a bit of a niche book that I did not even realise Hungry had a system of forestry railways. That should be an interesting read. 

The next book is more of a look at the pictures book on Britain's Railways from the air. I can recall this book when it forst came out years ago at a price I could not afford but as they say have patience!

Walking round the gardens we discovered that they and the house had been used as sets in the Netflix series Bridgerton. Never seen it but it looks like one of those historic dramas and there are various signs around marking out places where filming was done..

One of the volunteers told us that a lot of filming was done at night as it was easier to create the right daylight with lighting then relying on daylight itself! 

The exterior of the house certainly looks impressive!

And so do the gardens.

However, just like the Rocks By Rail Museum that I volunteer at, they have picnic tables disappearing under wild growing grass!

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!