My Brain had Some Ideas

I went down to the shed in the later arvo on Thursday and started to look at my Cassino Cab Company Diorama.  I placed it on the layout in its final position and it dawned on me that it was quite a bit further away from the road (its access point), than it is supposed to be in order for it to be able to fit between the wall and the track.  But due to its width, it can’t get any closer to the access road.  Then it dawned on me, that if I moved the road entry point, one fence panel closer to the track, I could potentially cut an angled slither off the back of the diorama and it will be able to be located closer to the road.  So I removed one fence post, move the gate posts over one panel and then cut the slither off the back of the diorama with a Dremel tool and cut off disk.  After that I glued the bitumened roads down and loaded weights on top and allowed the glue to dry.  

While I was removing the various cars that had been stacked up upon the Cassino Cab Company Diorama, I got the idea that I could put a car, or perhaps part of one into the Richmond River underneath the rail bridge at Cassino.  I already have a rubber ducky with a couple of divers about to fall back off the inflatable and go scuba diving at this location.  So now, I think they will be Emergency Services personnel about to try and recover a body or two from my partly submerged car, or at the very least determine if there are anyone inside the partly submerged wreck.  So I took an old plastic car, and took a Dremel cut-off disk to it and sliced it in half and sanded the base smooth so it can be placed on the water and it looks like it is disappearing into the river after some sort of accident.

My next trip to the shed was not until today.  I went to the Train Club on Saturday and had a good time talking and just walking around.  Anyway today I removed the weights on the diorama and placed it into position next to the road backing onto the railway line on the west side of Cassino.  I then mixed up about a half dozen batches of plaster and poured them around the cab company premises and sculptured the plaster into the required heights.  This also covered the polystyrene base at this location.  I also added a couple of the mixes to near the Murwillumbah Cement works for the rear exit road from the complex.  I then got out the paint and painted these two areas with a base colour so that it is not white.  

The next task was to cut up some styrene to help make some Railway Crossing signs for the layout's various road ways.  As well, I’ve had a request from one of my regular attendees and he wants some so why not just make a batch of them.  I’ve used code 40 rail for the post and I have superglued some styrene to the post.  Tonight I will print out some RAIL WAY CROSSING words that can then be cut up and glued to the styrene on the post.  We will see how they look next weekend.

I have received an update from the postman and my delivery of my Auscision Rail Paybus is now due tomorrow sometime, in lieu of Tuesday.  Just my luck, my wife has to drive my daughter to school tomorrow as she has to be there early for a swimming carnival.  I just know that the postman will arrive at that exact time she is away.  So I assume then that I will still get it on Tuesday this week, when I have to go to the post office to collect it myself.

Late this arvo I have also been working on my 400 Class Railmotor.  I have raised the non power bogie slightly by putting a styrene washer on the bogie mount point and it seems to have had some positive impact on the ability of the railmotor to run better.  I had an idea that it was not exactly level when resting on the track, thus the power bogie which is lacking a bit of weight, is just skidding on the track.  I will apply some more lead weight maybe next weekend.  Maybe Auscision will bring that railmotor out next, but after their (according to them) less than successful Rail Paybus project, maybe they won't go down that path.