Finishing Off Some Jobs

This weekend I started off with a short visit to the Redlands Model Train Show.  This is a nice little show.  I got there about 3 minutes after start time, and walked through the door and immediately got hit with a question about an NCE DCC system.  Anatol was trying to put a cab address of 10 into a SB5 system and his throttle was hanging.  So that was soon rectified and his layout was back operating.  I then took a photo of The Wuiske’s for their Facebook page to advertise the show and then had a good talk to our local El Supremo in Div 1 Super Duncan.  I then moved around the layouts, making my way over to George at Aurora Trains and then made my way back.  I could not believe the number of people I stopped and had a natter to.  I had a two hour self-imposed limit that I had at the show before I had to leave to visit a local shop on the way home and then get home to take my daughter out (driving lesson) to the Uni of Q for a lecture/information session for 3 hours.  This is so she can make her selections for tertiary entrance in the next few weeks.

I had a nice talk to Ron with his new layout, that man is amazing.  I then saw Phil and Den from the Philden layout fame (that was an attempt at humour), and then made my way over to see Col at the second hand stall.  I was after a RH curve point (insulfrog point to replace an electrofrog point that I have in Acacia Ridge Yard and a LH medium that I thought I might install in one of two places on the layout (Acacia Ridge Yard for another runaround or to replace a dual gauge point in Fisherman Islands).  The LH medium point will be enhanced to a dual gauge point if I install it in Fisherman Islands.  I had plenty more conversations with various people before I had to cut my visit at the exhibition short.  I could have stayed there for another couple of hours.  However, if I had, I’m sure that I would have ended up spending too much money.

On the way home from the exhibition I stopped off at Austral Modelcraft and picked up some code 83 rail for some more point making, some piano wire to control the narrow gauge points I am currently working on in Fisherman Islands Yard, and some more track joiners.  I just go through these things.  I prefer the Atlas code 100/code83 ones at 48 per packet.  I thought I had completed buying these things about 3 packets ago.  Although it might be a reason that I keep installing more trackwork on the layout.

Today we had a local fete at my kids primary school for the best part of the day.  I did get down to the shed in the afternoon and started off trying to complete a few jobs.  I installed the piano wire under three more narrow gauge points and installed some conduit at the baseboard fascia for the piano wire to run through and nailed the track down so everything worked well.  I installed the last 12mm point purchased a few weeks back and the track work looks good.

I did have an Alleluia moment during the week.  It was not a good one.  I have gone to the trouble of putting these new 12mm points in place in Fisherman Islands to facilitate some shunting and running around trains in this yard, but it finally dawned on me, no one can reach these tracks to couple of uncouple the trains – Doh!  I might have to come up with some manual magnetic uncouplers similar to what is used on Anthony’s Border District layout that we operate on.  I will see.

I also then started to add all the track jumpers back to the bus for the track either side of the new points and for the new siding in Fisherman Islands.  After all the wires had been solder up, I turned on the track power, and yes you guessed it - I had a short in the Fisherman Islands Yard.  So I checked everything, I double checked everything, and then unsoldered all the wires.  Sill a short.  I decided to check all the new points.  One set of Peco 12mm points, had the wire that is soldered to the frog, hidden from display.  This wire had been wrapped around the third rail (dual gauge track at this point on the layout) and was causing a short.  I untangled that wire and left it separated from everything and turned the track power back on.  Guess what?  It now worked.  So I then had to reconnect all the other jumper wires back to the track bus wires.  So that was done and everything seems to work.  No trains have run over the new 12mm track under their own power as yet, but at least there is no short.

A job well done for the weekend, if I do say so myself.  I still have another job next weekend, to install those HO points I purchased yesterday.  My phone has not rung yet after all the raffles I entered yesterday and today.  Damn.  I guess I am just not lucky.

Painting, Soldering and Track Laying - as Well as Running an Ops Session

This week we visited Cliff’s on Tuesday.   However, I did not get there until quite late due to work commitments and so I didn’t visit his layout this time.  By the time I got there everyone had adjourned to his unit and sat around to eat and drink.  I got there and enjoyed the conversations with those in attendance.  PK was doing another MB Klein order, but what I wanted to purchase was not in stock.  So I placed it on backorder with PK.  Being the great mate that he is, he advised the next day that he actually had 5 packets of what I was after in his kit bag.  He offered to sell one to me for a good price.  So on Thursday PK rocked up at work and I handed over some cash and I was then the proud owner of a packet of Tichy Train Group 44 gallon drums.  96 of them in fact.  However, upon checking the contents, there were actually 100 inside the packet.  The first 30 of them have now been assembled - lid put on the drum, and painted silver.  The next lot will be painted all different colours, to represent the various oil company colours of the era that I am modelling.  I should work out what colours they need to be and build up a stockpile of those paint colours.

Saturday this week, was the local NMRA meeting at Darren’s place.  So Geoff, Brendan and myself were conscripted (we didn’t need too much coaching) to run trains on his layout while the other members of the Division watched, and asked questions.  That allowed Darren to be free to speak to other guys while we kept the trains running.  I think a few of the visiting members got a laugh or two from the bantering that was going on between the various crews.  But we really need to get allocated trains before Geoff in the roster.  He kept me at a crossing loop for about 2 hours while he shunted at the Branchline Terminus, before I could get there to do the same.  Geoff had a wheatie, and was swapping the various empties for fulls before departing back to the junction station and onforwarding to Sydney.  I had the shunt train and it was an absolute brain teaser with all the shunting required.  I made one big stuff up on this train.  I had to shunt down to the good shed at the end of the line and swap a loaded wagon for an empty wagon.  However, I missed the sign “Locos to not pass this point” and I lost power.  I should have had a couple of wagons as match trucks so I could reach the siding with the loco safely outside the private siding boundary.  Oh well, I will remember next time.  It has been quite some time that I have had this particular train to shunt.

I had some very good conversations with some of the members.  Some I had not met before, and some that I had not caught up with for some time.  The lunch put on by Darren’s wife and daughter was fantastic.  It was a fantastic day.  About 45 people were in attendance.

Today I went down to the shed just before lunch time and did some spray painting.  I had some steel loads to touch up, I found some more steel beams to spray paint and I spray painted 30 new 44 gallon drums for various loads around my layout and for making up on a pallet which I have started selling.  I have a few pallets left in my collection that I thought I might be able to sell off with a load.  I was inspired by Arthur Hayes’s article in the last AMRM where he created some loads for his HWA wagons from Queensland Scale Models.  I just happen to have a few spare of these on my 12mm network.

The painting results.  44 gallons drums, and various steel loads.

Once the painting was over, I had some lunch and then resumed shed activities where I had to fix some soldering issues with some wires that had come loose.  My dual gauge point on the lead into Acacia Ridge Yard from the north had the wire to the frog come loose.  So that was fixed as did the control panel for the standard gauge entry to Acacia Ridge Yard from the south, which had the wire for track 2 come loose.  The next task was to bite the bullet to rip up a curve point in Acacia Ridge Yard from track 2 to track 3 (used by the steel shunt).  The baseboard under this tracks will be levels across a baseboard joint and hopefully take out a bit of a high spot that causes some issues.

This train, consisting on 1770 James Cook, three HWA wagons and one load for an HWA wagon is what I picked up last weekend at the Pine Rivers Model Railway Exhibition.

While doing work on the track, I decided to install most of the 12mm track I picked up at the Pine River Model Railway Show the previous weekend.  I installed the new siding off the number 2 loop siding in Fisherman Islands Narrow Gauge Yard.  I then set about installing the crossover from the narrow gauge track 1 to the dual gauge track.  This was completed and tested and seems to work well.  I then installed the first crossover in narrow gauge track 1 that will connect to narrow gauge track 2.  The second set of points has not been installed as yet.  That is a job for next Saturday afternoon.  Of course I will have to install the myriad of track jumpers to the various sections of track in the narrow gauge yard so we have continuous track power and locos can continue to sit there and idle away if required.  Considering that I only have one narrow gauge loco with sound, I’m a bit optimistic about my statement, but at least the trains can run to all section in the yard when it is rewired. 

What I am doing to the narrow gauge yard, I have already done to the standard gauge yard, as seen in the photo below.

This photo shows the narrow gauge track 1 with the crossover to the dual gauge track, and the first point installed to connect to the narrow gauge track 2.  The second point still need to be spliced in.

This photo shows the new dead end siding middle left, that will allow a loco or two to be stored within Fisherman Islands Narrow Gauge Yard.

Next weekend I need to pick up some supplies at the local hobby shops and then I will head over to the Redlands Model Railway Show later in the morning.  Sunday I have other activities planned.

Strathpine Model Railway Exhibition

This weekend I’ve clocked up the Kilometres travelling to and from Strathpine for the Strathpine Model Railway Exhibition.  The collection of layouts this year featured some QR ones.  Three absolute rippers in fact.  Stannum Vale was there in HOn3½ with fantastic scenery and exquisite models.  Across the aisle was Samford making its debut.  It was in On3½ with S scale track – 22 mm I think.  Great big rollingstock vehicles, nice scenery and inspirational.  Just next to this layout was Dagun in also HOn3½ .  Another relatively new layout.  It even had two of my scratch built grain wagons with tarps on it a couple of times on the weekend.  I must admit that they were not up to the same quality as the others, but at least they got a run.

We also had a sugar industry layout also representing QR outline, and we had a couple with NSW and Victorian outline trains making appearances.  We also had a fictional On30 layout Mt Mee Tramway also with very nice scenery.  With a bit of imagination, we could also include two other layouts in the local outline.  Urangan Pier based on a replica of the pier at Hervey Bay and also Broxburn Sidings, but you need to watch out for the huge crocodiles on this layout.

There were the usual culprits with their shops and/or businesses and I saw plenty of folding stuff handed over – particularly from my wallet.  I have about 4-6 weeks before the wife finds out how much I spent.  Just be quite PK!  On Wednesday this week, I might get down to the shed and install a decoder in a new 1720 class loco - actually James Cook 1770.

So over the weekend I had plenty of fun.  I built a few models.  I gave away a few items.  I sold a few loads and tarps.  I had plenty of conversations with exhibitors, Club members, and the public.

Soccer season has now finished and my son’s team won one game and drew won in a challenging season.  Yesterday was a 9-0 loss against a team of thugs.  My weekend have freed up somewhat.  Now next weekend is the NMRA meeting at Darren’s place.  More trains.

Still Tinkering Around Rocklea Sidings and Acacia Ridge Yard

I was able to have Friday off work so I could pick my son up from school camp just after lunch time.  He spent 4 days hiking around Mount Barney.  So in the morning before I went to pick him up at school, I started working on the replacement of the point motor base/actuator for the standard gauge entry to Rocklea Sidings.  I replaced my Peco point motor base with a sprung loaded version (Peco PL-12) which I obtained from Shelton – thanks mate.  I installed this and then fired up the DCC system and I ran my NR class loco through the point in both directions.  There seemed to be no issues.  When I tried to run the NR class loco into the sidings, the point would not throw to the siding.  I decided to leave this until Sunday.

So today I worked out the DCC accessory address for that particular point - 1142, as I cannot reach the control panel when I’m working on the point on the layout, as I have to crawl under the layout and stand on an old stool in an access hatch, so I have to use my throttle to call up the DCC accessory address of the point motor and throw it that way.  My idea was that I screwed the Peco PL-12 down to tightly and the point motor will not throw the point in one direction.  So I released the screws slightly and gave it another go while I monitored it in both directions.  Well it takes 2 and sometimes three throws to push it over fully for Rocklea Sidings.  For the mainline, it throws first time.  I think there is some binding somewhere in the setup.  I also ran a narrow gauge loco through the point on the mainline and this is also good.

On Saturday I worked on getting everything ready for next weekend as I will be working on a stand doing some modelling at the RMCQ’s Strathpine Exhibition next weekend.  This is at the Strathpine Community Centre off Mecklem Street at Strathpine.  It is open 9-4 both days.

Today I did some more pottering around as well.  While I was working on the Rocklea Standard gauge point, I decided to re-visit the point from the dual gauge in Acacia Ridge Yard that allows a train to come in off the mainline from the south from track 1 inbound to travel to the dual gauge siding.  So this has now been much improved with no shorts now with wheels touching dual gauge trackage of opposite polarity.  

I also did some work on the workbench.  I spent some time adjusting the tarped loads on my four QR narrow gauge grain wagons.  So I’m happy that these are now fitting the wagon.  I also made some steel H beam loads for various steels trains, standard and narrow gauge.  I also made up another 20 bee hives for next weekend.  I also made up 10 pallets with 44 gallon drums on them also for next weekend.  I also made up another three 20’ container flats for generator sets.  I think I also potted around on a couple of other activities while at the workbench but cannot remember what I did.

Say hello to me next weekend at the Strathpine Model Railway Exhibition.

This is one of the two dual gauge points that I installed recently.  This one is actuated via the DPDT switch in the baseboard with an omega spring to ensure it does not over throw.  The frog is electrically switched via one pair of contacts on the switch.

The same point but now in the opposite position.

This is the standard gauge point into Rocklea Sidings.  The point motor in the bottom of the photo sits upon a Peco PL-12.  I was hoping that the PL-12 would provide an over centre spring effect to the dual gauge point.  But there is binding.  I will spend some more time on this in the future.

This dual gauge point is located on the Acacia Ridge Yard dual gauge track, just left of the standard gauge track 1.  It now appears to work quite well.  But I will super glue some extended check rails into this point when next get a chance to climb under the layout.

This view is of the narrow gauge end of Acacia Ridge Yard.  The track where the standard gauge wagons are is the extension of the dual gauge track in Acacia Ridge Yard from the photo above.  To the left of that track is the standard gauge mainline into Acacia Ridge from Glenapp Loop, which brings trains to and from Grafton.  Above that is the trackage towards Clapham Yard which is reached by exiting the other end of Acacia Ridge Yard and travelling around an 180 degree curve, thus gaining the relevant height.