Clearing the decks!

After yesterdays filming for the YouTube video that I did on my Last Great Project layout which did show my workbench/desk in all its mayhamic (is that a word - well it is now!) glory, I thought it about time I cleared it up a bit and clear the decks as they say. I could just put everything in a box and kid myself it is clear but there are a few unfinished projects on there which really need finishing so I can clear the bench with a clear conscious.

First up is the Knightwing Foden tipper kit in its half finished state that has been seen in many photos of other projects on the bench. Dragging it from its corner of the bench I was amazed that all the parts are there which is a good start. 

One of the axles is broken so that has been glued and six if the wheels are now solidly attached. The rear mudguards have also been added to the tipper body. I also needed to re-glue the tailgate to the tipper which came off in my clumsy maneuvers to glue the mudguards! 

If I recall correctly the cab does not fit particularly well on the chassis so that may be a challenge to correct but first I need to glaze the cab - that should be fun!

Meanwhile if you are interested in seeing some trains running on my Last Great Project Layout the video is here. When you see my work bench you will realise why I need to clear the decks!

Growing!

With some warm and, amazingly, dry weather it was time to sort the green house out a bit. Mrs. Woody and myself had planted various flower and vegetable seeds some weeks ago which have equally amazingly have mostly all grown! The tomato plants that I grew from seed on a windowsill inside (away from prying cat paws) were potted up today and some marigold seedlings taken onto the next stage of small pots. The trouble with this sort of work is that you do loose yourself in it and before I knew it several hours had gone - several hours I planned to do some model making in! Oh well - I can always make models when it is raining (Mrs. Woody allowing of course!) but I cant always get into the garden and greenhouse if it is raining - that sort of makes sense!

I did want to try out my DCC controller as posted about yesterday so that does work and I did take some video for another insomnia curing YouTube video which I will do in the next few days. I had actually prepared some trains for it with a focus on EWS, Freightliner and DRS diesels. 

I will have to see how unpopular my choices are with viewers! Hopefully I can keep my viwer base growing!

Failed!

Last night was a bit of a failure as my Bachmann Dynamis DCC controller failed! Not sure what is wrong with it but I have got used to it over my three years of ownership so it was natural to want to replace it like for like. So today, as I put it to Mrs. Woody, was a good day for a random trip out for her pleasure. The fact that the random trip took in a model shop which had a controller in stock and the Rocks By Rail Members Annual General Meeting was pure unconnected coincidence!

Back at WMD HQ I will be trying the controller out tomorrow with hopefully no issues or problems or my mission to replace will have failed but as Mrs. Woody has pointed out many times I should be used to failure by now!

Finished!

The £5 broken, quarter built and glue bomb Airfix Dodge 1 1/2 Ton Personnel Carrier, bought without really knowing what it was as it was in a plastic bag with no box is now finished - well as far as I am going with it! I am really pleased how this turned out and given with what I started with somewhat surprised that it is finished at all! Anyway a few pictures of it on its finished diorama base that was completed today.

One small step but one giant leap for Woody

The Airfix Dodge 1 1/2 Ton Personnel Carrier is almost finished! The masked up windscreen was unmasked having had a coat of dirt airbrushed on it yesterday.

It was fitted with some PVA glue to avoid  any damage or smears on the clear parts. In addition the tool rack for the rear tailgate of the truck was painted and fitted. The two remaining figures were also glued into the back of the truck and a few items of cargo were placed in the trailer. Small steps but leaping forward!

A few jobs to do on the base and then it will be fully finished! 

On Chalkdon my 009 narrow gauge layout, the walkway onto the platform I made and painted yesterday have been fitted making it safer for the 4mm passengers to get to the platform with their small steps rather than leaping!

On the step project the blocks are in and the slabs have been placed on the brickwork awaiting setting into a cement bed. However they are at least in place as they are not the easiest things to move and lift! 

Mrs. woody seems impressed which is a major plus point! 

'One small step but one giant leap for Woody' to badly misquote Buzz Aldrin! However it does at least look a lot better then 3 months ago! Hopefully that grass seed will grow soon - how can it not with all the rain!

A mixed bag!

A mixed bag of things done today including an incredible bike ride of two halves. Firstly heading into the brick wall of a wind and then, secondly, on the way home feeling as though I am about to take off! The weather appears to be so unpredictable that even the weather forecast seems to be a best guess at what might happen! Today started sunny but cold. At least it was dry and that was enough for me to mix up some concrete for inside the brickwork of my step into the rebuilt conservatory. I had already put a base of hardcore inside the brick base.

The idea is that seven of the concrete blocks just by the lump hammer in the picture above will be cemented in the base and provide support for the slabs that will span the bricks and form the top of the step. The blocks need a base to sit on hence the concrete base inside the brick work. I do try to think these things out - not always logically though as Mrs. Woody would say!

Mid way through above and the finished job below - just as the temperature really dropped, the wind blew even harder and the rain started!

Luckily although the rain bothered me as I got wet, the concrete was nice and snug under cover from the wooden temporary step. Hopefully I can get the blocks cemented in place tomorrow and then the slabs for the step installed on Friday - weather permitting!

In the dry of the Man Cave I had a mixed bag of small but important things to get on with. First off I need to finish the Airfix Dodge 1 1/2 Ton Personnel Carrier. One of the few parts to fit is the windscreen which is a one piece moulding including the windscreen wipers. As the truck is fairly heavily weathered a clean windscreen was not going to look right. Therefore I used my compass cutting on some masking tape to cut out a mask for the sweep of the two windscreen wipers. I will spray some 'dirt' coloured paint to simulate the grime thrown up on the glass and then remove the masks which will reveal clear glass where the wipers wipe. That's the theory!

For my 009 narrow gauge layout Chalkdon, I need to have a walkway across the tracks to the platform. I also need some packing cases, sacks, cable drums and oil drums to place around the canal wharf. These have been made up and have been sprayed with an initial coat of paint so should be in place soon.

Back at the Museum and back to the routine work!

It is Tuesday so I was back at the Rocks By Rail Museum. I was last there on Easter Sunday, the first open day of the 2023 season and it was a great day. Yesterday with the rain I did think it might not be a good day for attendance but apparently it was! So all in all a good start to the year but the routine work to keep the site going continues and I was out with the mower again. Although I cut he grass only a week ago it had grown about two inches - it must be all that rain!

Strangely, the drag line was operating today. Not for the delight of visitors, although they would no doubt have been interested to see it in action on an otherwise non-operational day, but as part of a YouTube production. Stay tuned for details about that once it is released!

The YouTube creator getting his filming equipment ready!

Meanwhile steam loco 1391 needed its tubes and fire box cleared out so it was out in the open with Jean and Betty the Sentinels. 

George, who will need a good clean up before being allowed in back home, clearing some of the ash that came out of the loco - it fills potholes well!

Meanwhile in the restoration shed work to smarten up the Shark brake van continues. As you can see it is really showing the ravages of living outside.

One of the bonuses of being a volunteer is that you can see things most people never get to see like the brake gear on the chassis. Maybe not everyone's cup of tea but it interests me! 

Easter wash out!

Well it may have been sunny yesterday but today was one of the rainiest Easter Mondays I can recall. Not sure how the Rocks By Rail Museum got on today but I guess there were not as many visitors as yesterday. There was a break in the rain for an hour or so  and Mrs. Woody and myself took advantage to get a couple of things shopping wise but we did end up having to park during a heavy thunderstorm.

Back in the relative dryness of WMD HQ I took the chance of not being able to do anything outside (even Mrs. W agreed it was too wet to be out) with unpacking the rest of my Hornby DRS coaches to run with my two DRS Class 47 diesel locomotives. Because many rural terminal stations were simplified track wise to be only able to deal with Diesel Multiple Units which had cabs at each end, when the likes of DRS stepped in for whatever reason to run a service they had to in effect top and tail the coaches with a locomotive at each end to allow the train to be driven back to where ever it had come from. This I replicated with my two diesels and five coaches. It looked an impressive train-  to me anyway! 

Rocks by Rail Museum opens to a great start for 2023.

Well the 2023 season for the Rocks By Rail Museum got off to a great start! With the current squeeze on peoples budgets we were unsure how that might affect the visitor numbers. However the entrance fee remains the same as last year and cafe prices are up only slightly which may make a visit for a family as attractive as last year compared to other venues where prices are up considerably. The true answer to the strategy will only reveal itself at the end of the season. However it seems today that we attracted more visitors then on Easter Sunday last year so certainly a great start! Talking to our guests it seems they had a great time and would be coming back so we are hopefully doing the right things.

Today was a steam day with brake van rides.

A rare view of all four brake vans together. The nearest one is the one just restored and fresh out of the workshop. The last two are the ones that need restoration at the end of the season.

Meanwhile the cafe has been brightened up. Shortly after these pictures the gates opened and at one stage it looked as though we were going to run out of food! This was particularly worrying as the food was supposed o be sufficient for today and tomorrow. More supplies are on order!

Talking of tomorrow, it will be a quarry day with the excavators working including the drag line.

Although there will be more going on tomorrow there was still a lot of action today with a birthday tractor run coming to the museum with a host of vintage tractors and one more modern one! They certainly attracted a lot of attention when we parked them up next to the entrance.

Good to know there is a sense of humour in the World of tractors!

DRS coaches arrive at last!

During the pandemic I was fortunate enough to get hold of two Bachmann Class 47s in DRS livery with DCC Sound at a very good price. It was around the time that Hornby released their DRS livery coaches. Unfortunately by the time I got round to seeking some out they were sold out or on eBay at ridiculous prices of around £70. I was not paying that amount and put the idea to the back of my mind. Then for their 2022 range Hornby announced some more DRS coaches and getting my act together I pre-ordered some. Wind forward about 18 months and they arrived! I had almost forgotten about them until I got an email saying they were on the way. I was expecting a single box with the five coaches in it. Instead fives boxes arrived! 

I think Mrs. Woody thought I had ordered a shop worth of things. It did make me wonder why Hornby could not have just put them in one box instead of five boxes which each had room for at least three coaches. Anyway I am sure there is a logical reason for Hornby doing it this way. It was fascinating for Monty the cat who thought it all very interesting with five empty boxes to play with!

Having had a busy day and with friends visiting I have not had time to get them all out on the layout but I could not resist at least seeing one on the track with one of the Class 47s.

They do look good together. I am looking forward to getting the rest out but that will have to wait a day or so as I am working at the Rocks By Rail Museum tomorrow on the first day of the 2023 season. Apparently there is a 20 strong tractor convoy coming to visit! That should be a sight!