News 2005......
Started work on South London again, finally finishing off the platform (I say finishing, it still needs the lights adding as well as paint...) The problem non passenger side has been completely removed replaced with an 8ft wall integral with the back wall of the platform. This is all made from plasticard with a 30thou core laminated with embossed brickwork on both sides along with a 90thou former to support the platform top (and provide much needed stiffness.) Lights are a HO model by Viessmann, and at 3 quid a pop aint bad value. (They will of course still need painting into NSE red).
Progress on the main layout has slowed down, (mostly due to the P4 track co not being at Ally Pally, meaning an order needs posting off.) but thanks to 2 demod members (who's names I have unfortunately forgotten) and Andi Dell the signalling has been sorted (and the first signal built. The layout has now had its main location fixed, being an extension of the line through Alton continuing to Winchester. More will be posted on this tomorrow (hopefully) when I am not so tired. Finally I have brought yet another piece of stock for the layout, a Hornby 31 and a SWT class 159. Again more on the former later, the 159 will soon be rebranded back to NSE logos on one side leaving the other in SWT for later operating eras.
Photos of the 159 at South London's platform are here:
The new trackplan...
Not much to report, just more random thoughts on layout design. And another possible planed out on the baseboard. More info soon. Just booked onto another ski trip so modelling funds are rather stretched atm, another advantage of the new plan being its reduced complexity, and proven design meaning less cost. Have uploaded here a list of the possible movements that would take place on the layout, giving a total of 32 with more possibilities in the future. Again the layout would be set in the NSE era.
OMS: Iron Maiden, Powerslave, Aces High. Nothing better to take your mind off the shiteness that is valentines day than some heavy rock!
3rd February:
Exams are over, the essay is in, all that's left is that design course work from ages ago. Anyhow, onto the modelling. The 4EPB is almost ready for the paint shop, and the first of the 456 isn't that far behind it (Ok it still needs work on the end and roof, but hopefully both 456 will be ready for paint by Ally Pally. Work on 37019 has gone very well, now fitted with Hornby Class 50 buffers, cut aways at both ends, a Shawplan roof grill. The No1 end has lost its headcode boxed, which have now had the recesses filled over. The model still needs new headcode boxes at the no2 end (need to get a set of lima ones) and the new marker lights at the no1 end. The model has also now been lowered to the correct height, and is currently in the stage where I am patch painting the areas which were modified into BR blue for the locos first runout at Ally Pally, (Where we will have it before and after Andi got his hands on the poor thing :P
The new layout has ran into problems, as NSE units take over again. New trackplans are in development just in case I decide to move it back to the South East.
OMS: Black Sabbath, Paranoid
OMWB: lots of EMUs
25th January:
Once agene revising for the last exam, fluids, which once again I am going to fail. Prof Bates has to be the most useless lecture that we have, and of course he has to teach one of the hardest subjects. Anyway rant over, spent yet more money at Lord & Butler yesterday, this time coming away with 3 Bachmann POA wagons (again for use on calcified seaweed) and a new Bachmann class 37/0.
Start with the good model, i.e. the POA, really nice tooling which is let down by an incorrect chassis (Bachmann modelled the rarer early design of TTA chassis, meaning the modern TTAs, POAs and any future versions will be incorrect.) Leaving this aside, the body (and the chassis for that matter) are very good tooling with lots of small details. Also of note is the design of the break gear, which is a separate part in a large recess making moving it to the correct spacing very easy.
Now that's out the way, onto the class 37. What can I say, its an improvement over the original (but then so would including a rectangular lump of plastic!) The model is let down by abysmal quality control, silly errors and a very dodgy end. Starting with the ends, the buffer beam fairing is way over scale to make up for the model riding too high (as usual), fortunately as this was quickly removed this wasn't such a problem for my model of 37 019. Moving onto the quality issues, a number of them are very poor runners, and are very noisy (make sure you get a test run first), fortunately this particular example actually runs rather well. Other quality problems are in the joints between separate parts of the moulding, where there are thick unprototypical 'bulges', again this varies from model to model. Finally the silly errors, so far I have mostly found these in the rain strips, first the ones on the cab roof are missing one section one the door side, and also have a 1mm wide raised section above them which I can not find on any prototype photos. This was relatively easy to fix with microstrip (using a pack of HO scale 2" by 1"(the smallest size available at my local), which shows how over scale the Bachmann tooling is! Not so easy to correct is the missing rain strip around a grill near the no2 cab (under a side window), this needs a much finer strip and has had to be left for now. Once again I ask how these days such silly errors are able to get through onto production models, and how these stupid quality issues still effect Bachmann's products, they just keep on making the same mistakes!
As for the model, its being to converted to 37 019 in the condition after it was repaired from Mr Dells 'shunting'. This basically involved cutting a bigger cutaway on the No1 end, and removing the headcode boxes (not an easy job as there are large holes behind them). The no2 end needed modernising to get the small cutaway, and modernising the 'boxes. Finally the model has been lowered, had new rain strips added, and a Shawplan roof grill, + a bit of filler in the sides to get rid of holes etc that are not needed. The model will then get a new coat of BR Blue. Hopefully in time for Ally Pally.
Photos of the wagons will be added later, and the 37 will be added once I get it to a condition I am happy with.
......1 Exam Left........
OMS: AC/DC; Highway to Hell; Walk All Over You
OMWB: 37 019 getting its new rain strips
23rd January:
Not much, only to say that apparently the Dogfish are no where near as difficult to convert to P4 than I first thought, so I will be attempting one as soon as I get some more P4 wagon wheels ordered. Speaking of ordering stuff I really aught to chase up the missing part of one of my P4track co points (and while I'm at it order the rest of the points I need and another pack of their tortoise mounting plates.)
.....2 Exams left.......
OMS Mettalica; Master of Puppets; Disposable Heroes
22nd January:
Right then, New Year new layout, due to problems with the initial design (principally the lack of a run-around anywhere on the layout, and the amount of space wasted on a pointless fiddle yard which was 4ft long, but could only stable one loco.) It has been ripped up to be replaced with a new layout using the same boards. (Ok iirc this is the fifth or sixth layout to be built on these baseboards.
So what is the new project then? Well it is a station on the GWML taking up just under half of the width, with a yard in front of it. This yard is at the end of a couple of china clay branches, meaning there is plenty of shunting operations with out bound trains being formed, and arrivals split ready to make the trip back down the branch. The main branch also has a passenger service leaving from a separate platform at the station. The layout is planed to offer a couple of operating eras, but for now will be focusing on the mid to late 80s (I.e. the changeover between Clay Hoods and CDAs, but will have various other wagons (such as the bogie slurry tanks, VGAs and cargowaggons ). Passenger workings will be modelled using HSTs, Class 50s, and DMUs. And will also have the more modern Class 47 loco hauled sets, and 150s or 153s on the branch. Freight will mostly be in the hands of class 37s, with the odd class 50. Moving on to classes 37, 60 and 66 (with the odd workings by 67 and 52 on clay hoods). Of course there will be the odd train that isn't strictly appropriate such as the Freightliner hauled cement train (out of era) and DRS nuke flask workings (got to find some use for all this DRS kit I have!)
Of course actual progress on the layout hasn't got any further than the mix of track, points and templates placed in position before I headed off to Val Thorens for the University ski trip (Amazing week!!!!!!) Followed by exams :@:@:@:@ what a way to come down after the skiing :(
So the only real progress was the cad drawing of a possible candidate for the station, (or as the prototype its based on a station hotel.) And the buying of a number of new wagons, (in other words I went to the model shop and cleaned them out of 3 wagon classes! So, I have now got the first 12 Clay Hoods (all of which still need some extra transfers, new hoods, 3 links and some heavy weathering.) 7 Heljan Dogfish (again the entire stock of the 'pure' Dutch version, why did Heljan add that godam Mainline branding? (On the subject they are a complete and utter pig to P4, with narrow axels and OO spaced brake shoes) Finally this afternoon I have brought 4 of the new Bachmann HEA, which has a nice new chassis, but the actual hopper is a bit of a mess.
Photos will be added here when I have got the camera charged up again.
OMS: Iron Maiden; Powerslave; Aces High