Stairs to Heaven

This week we all visited Geoff’s place on Tuesday night.  We had quite a few attendees and had numerous conversations talking across the table all at once.  It was a good night as usual.  On Friday I popped down to the shed early after a visit to the optometrist.  I did some pottering around.  I spray painted some styrene sheet to make then steel slabs and then added various colours – Black, Mission Brown and Yellow Oxide to add some weathering to the base grey colour of steel.  I also gave a 3D printed bobcat a colouring of yellow oxide.  This now resembles a dirty piece of machinery.  I will need to pick out the wheels and a few other items in matt black to complete the model.  I actually ran a track cleaning train on the layout from Grafton Yard to Cassino then onto Murwillumbah.  from there it was back to Cassino before heading though to Glenapp Loop, before heading back to Kyogle for staging.  It will work its way back to Grafton Loop one afternoon this week, and get put away into a siding in Grafton Loco.

On Saturday I had a visit from a mate from work and his 8 year old.  They had a tour of the layout and watch a train have a run.  I think the little fella enjoyed himself.  I showed then how I make steel loads.  I had a few strips of I and H beam ready for painting.  So I painted them Grey, and then added the various weathering colours, of Black, Mission Brown and Yellow Oxide.  All in under 2 minutes.  In front of their eyes they could see that the styrene was now lengths of weathered steel.  Not much later, I had Arthur pop over to take some more photos for supplement those already taken for my AP certificates.

Today I got the wood working tools out and made a set of steps for inside the Grafton Yard return loop.  This is a layout access point that I gain access to by crawling on my hands and knees under Grafton loops and come up inside the return loops.  I have been thinking for some time that I would go over the top instead of going underneath the layout.  I had a set of stairs for outside the return loop.  I then would step across the 8 return loops and land on the inside stairs and make my way down to ground level.  We will see how appropriate this method of access will be.  But I need some hand rails to steady my progress across the top of the layout.  I have not made the hand rails yet.  I still need to add some bracing ply to the stairs and potentially add one other cross brace underneath the top platform.  Next week's job

I am starting to do a list of things to do while I have a week off from work soon during school holidays.  I think I will work on three QR HWO steel wagons, adding some ‘decals’ that I am making, and then adding some weathering to the floors of the wagons.  I will also need some steel loads for these as well.  I will also put together about 30 steel wire loads for future use, about 15 long and 15 short.  I think I better make up the next lot of 50 or so pallets in case I get the phone call saying the someone wants some more.  I might also make up about a dozen clothes lines for the future.  I think I will also do the final copies of the diagrams and paperwork for the next two AP certificates – Model Railway Engineer – Civil and Model Railway Engineer – Electrical.  These could then be evaluated sometime in December by the local AP guru (Arthur) before being sent down south for ratification and whatever they do.