You just have to love the sound of a Class 37!

With all that has been going on at WMD HQ just recently I have not had the chance to have a closer look at the Bachmann BR blue Class 37 that arrived some time ago. Well I did get a few minutes today to get it out of the packaging and put it on the track for a closer look and quick run. It looked good in the box but looks even better on the track!

I was particularly impressed by the roof fan detail which is exquisite!

Equally the cab interiors look very detailed too.

However, turning up the power on DC rather than DCC surprised me with the loco coming to life with engine noise! A quick video clip should illustrate this.

You just have to love the sound of a Class 37! Well I do anyway!

Reunited!

As a break from bathrooms rebuilding and associated works, I had a day at the Rocks by Rail Museum today. The weather was great and I got a number of things done which is a positive!

First job of the day was to shovel another ton of fine hardcore from the platelayers trolley up onto the new viewing platform. Luckily David was there to assist. 

Next up is to get some gravel on top but in the meantime David painted the two supporting posts and I cleared some more vegetation which became fodder for another bonfire!

After lunch it was time to be reunited with the lawnmower! So off to the store and open the doors and there it is!

Not seen it since mid October 2024 but after checking the oil and filling the fuel tank the mower started second pull of the starter! Obviously the mower was anxious to get out to work after a Winter of hibernation and it was a nice afternoon too! Me, om the other hand, after my lunch, was less anxious but it was time to make the reunited moment al the more special by actually cutting some grass!

Meanwhile, back in the station area, things are moving on with the drainage pipes installed and backfilled so that the preparation work for relaying the track is underway.

Not long to the Easter opening so there is still a lot to do - but isn't there always! No doubt I will yet again be reunited with the mower next week when hopefully some track may be laid!

Half a job!

Whilst Phil the builder has been doing a great job with fitting the cupboard doors, plumbing in the sink, fitting the shower and all the skirting and architrave.....

I have managed half a job of painting the door!

Mrs. Woody will be impressed - she always says I only ever do half a job so this just proves her point!

Hopefully all this work will be finished by the end of this week aso I can back to some model making in amongst Mrs. W's chore list for me!

Flushed with success!

No model making today but I am flushed with success as the bathroom refit now boasts a fully working toilet! No more bucket to flush! In fact there was a great deal of progress today with all the cabinets fitted and with the already installed bath now having been tiled it is really coming together! 

The skip which has been on the driver for the past five weeks or so also went today.

Unfortunately it went just a bit early to get the old toilet in it so that now sits outside under a window until I can get to the recycling centre! Meanwhile I am sure Mrs. Woody will be impressed! It will certainly be a talking point!

My job was a simple one of preparing and painting the door architrave and skirting board which was a nice job to do out in the sun. Just needs a second coat of paint tomorrow.

A fraction of the price!

Still working on the cable trunking with a bit more file work to mark the vertical joints.

Then it was time to paint with some concrete coloured paint.

I sprayed this as it was easier than painting.

Looking good - in my view anyway!

So how does it compare with the Wills kit parts? Well lets have a look!

I think it compares well and at a fraction of the price - now that is nice!

DIY Cable Trunking.

On most real railways these days the vast array of colour light signals, point motors and general communications systems are controlled and linked by electrical cables. In the old days, (when I was a lad!) there used to be telegraph poles that carried telephone lines and most points and signals were controlled by mechanical linkages with a nearby signal box. In the modern World the various cables that now do these important functions are protected from damage by concrete cable trunking.

In the model World you can buy various kits to make this trunking and I have used the Wills version myself.

You get about 24 inches of trunking and some junction pieces.

When I bough two of these kits a couple of years ago they were about £4.50 each. Looking through a few sites today the cheapest I could see was £6.61! I need about 10 feet of trunking and possibly more which means that the cost is a minimum of £33 or £3.30 a foot. That is a lot and I got to thinking there must be a cheaper way - and there is!

Evergreen strip No 188 3.2mm x 4.8mm. You get six 15 inch strips (for £5.20) which equates to 7.5 feet length in total . 

Add some 0.5mm square strip at 15pence for an 18 inch length (from DMG Electech) and for a total cost of £6.70 I can make 7.5 feet of trunking which works out at about 90pence a foot! Bargain! So how do I make it?

First off, to make the lip of the covers I glued the 0.5mm strip to the side of the Evergreen strip.

With that done I constructed this jig.

The jig allows me to slide the trunking through it and every 12mm, see the mark on the bottom of the jig, use a saw to cut a grove to simulate the joints between the individual covers. 

With the saw cuts done I used some needle files to add some depth and relief. Once painted and weathered it should look a lot more defined.

It took me a couple of hours to sort out the method of making the trunking and constructing the jig but I think I could now do a 15 inch length in about 30 minutes so it is not that time consuming. There is also the possibility of some additional details but that is for another time as in the meanwhile I need to get some more of this DIY trunking made.. 

Frustrations!

One of those small frustrations with model railways is when you get an item of rolling stock that continually derails. You know it is not the track because no other rollingstock derails at the same places so it has to be the loco, coach or wagon that is the culprit. 

Derailing is usually down to the wheels but it can also be down to the bogies or wagon running gear on occasions. In this particular case with an old Lima Express Services coach, and from observation I was fairly certain that the issue was with the wheels on one bogie. 

Strangely this second hand coach has a Kadee coupling on the bogie in question so always is at the rear of the rake of coaches. I don't think the coupling had anything to do with the derailing though.

Anyway, I checked the back to back measurement between the inside surfaces of the wheels with the brass coloured strange looking tool in the above photo and all was as it should be.

The wheelsets themselves are unusually made of brass which is something that Lima preferred. Looking at them there was some dirt that could affect running.

Whilst I would have preferred to put new wheels into the bogie, unfortunately the WMD stores had no suitable replacements available - most strange!

That was cleared off and a file run around the wheel tread and rim as there appeared to be some 'dents' in both surfaces.

Whilst the wheelsets were out of the bogie I also used this other odd looking tool just to clean out the axle housings of any burrs of plastic or dirt.

With that done the wheelsets were put back in place.

Putting it back on the track at the back of the rake it looked the part and there was a significant improvement in running

However, the derailing is not fully cured! Instead of once or twice on every circuit of the track it now only derails about every tenth circuit! Much better but still frustrating! I think I need to get some new wheels for it!

Taking stock!

Having finally finished the tunnel scenic sub-base, it is perhaps time to sit back and take stock of what else I need to be getting on with in the future to finish this particular baseboard section of my 00 gauge Last great Project Layout.

This is the baseboard in question. 6 feet by 2.5 feet in size. 

The wiring and point motors have been installed but need to be fully wired into the as yet to be built control panel. The scenery is basically complete with the various sub-bases. There will be additional details to be added but these can be done over time but there is nothing major to be done, apart from over the tunnels. That though will depend on what I do over the hidden sidings so that is on the back burner at present.

One thing that does need detailing is the Metcalfe goods shed that I built about 25 years ago. A great kit but looking at it now there are a couple of areas that could do with some detailing. The flat cardboard roof with printed slates could do with having a new roof laid on it with some relief in the tiles. In addition it could do with gutters and downpipes and finally a good dose of weathering would enhance it.

Then there is a small amount of track to be laid from this point that is supposed to allow for future expansion of the layout -0 if I have the time, space and inclination!

Then all the track needs ballasting.

The end of the goods yard needs ballasting and details adding.

And once all that is done I can move onto the next baseboard!

Maybe I shouldn't have taken stock - there is still a lot to do!

Bonfire time!

With only a few of us in at the Rocks By Rail Museum today things were going to be quiet so what better than to use the opportunity to have a bonfire without upsetting anyone!

There was plenty to be incinerated including cuttings from the viewing platform project but I also took the opportunity to cut this back

So that it was a bit less likely to hit visitors as they walked under.

Any evidence of my cutting work was incinerated and I can blame my accomplice Alex if there is any comeback - he is the official Scape Goat as I informed him!

I also had time to unload the platelayers trolley by shoveling its contents up on to the viewing platform.

The platform is now getting a good layer of fine material to level things off. Hopefully another trolley load will finish things off and probably finish me off too!

My Last Great Project Carboard Butchery - The video!

The long drawn out saga of the tunnel sub-base is recorded to some degree in this YouTube video. The WMD film crew have carried out their usual magic in producing this visionary delight which you will either find fascinating or as a sure blown way in which to cure insomnia!