Blimey exhibition on saturday!

I noticed that the exhibition is next Saturday, blimey.

Tonight I wired and tested the layout end of things and checked that there are enough cores to connect it all up which there are so thats good. I need to get down underneath and do the next stage which will get the wiring to the control panel and then add a quick six switch add on. I think a quick bodge for now is the order of things and then a sort out when I have the time...

Scenery is quite simple on this bit so a night with the filler and then a night with paint and greenery should just about get me there. I need one more building to cover a point motor but I have it to hand and just need to make it and paint it. I may do that with my feet while I do the rest of the wiring.

Cripes...

Track goes down

This afternoon I've laid the track on the new extension, fitting the new point in the old siding was a bit fiddly but I got it in in the end. All has gone down ok apart from where there is a short section between the 2nd and 3rd new points, it is only an inch or so long and needs to have a slight curve on it but I've ended up with a slight 'thrupenny bit' join at one end; very prototypical but it already bugs me. Its not wired up yet but I'll try it with some rolling stock and a battery to see if it runs ok. Reluctant to pull it up if I don't have to but better now than later.

The only really hard bit now is the wiring, the layout end is ok but I need to see if there are enough spare cores in the multicore for three points and 3 sections, i.e. 9 wires... then I have to find space on the control panel somehow and make it make sense.

St Ruth gets an extension

You know how it is, it's a wet Thursday and there is nothing much to do. Your layout is going to an exhibition in a week or so... so you decide to add a new bit of baseboard with some extra sidings...

The woodwork is done and only used wood I had waiting for the Smallchurch, the extension I'm supposed to be building! I've cut out a section of the long siding which was previously right at the front of the main board and dug all the 'ballast' out of the way, a Y point fits nicely and leads to the three new sidings. The new point will be right above the board framing so will have to have a point motor mounted above the board; fortunately I have modified a Hornby 'Lyddle End' water tower which will suit the location perfectly and with a small coaling point next to it will make a nice little loco preping area.

The siding which kicks back towards the road will be a coal road with a merchant and some staithes, the other two sidings will just be for shunting etc.

Luckily I have all the track and point motors in the drawer waiting for Smallchurch so the only bit I need to buy is an above board point mounting base...

So far so good...

New diesel gets some paint

The new diesel has had its first lot of paint and I think I was right to go for the same red as the Lilliput diesel.

It needs another coat all round and glazing in the windows and handrails fitted for the cab. I'll try to make them straight which is not always my forte.

Once all the painting and detailing is done it will just remain to weather it. Not sure whether to hold back a bit on this one or make it the same as the Lilliput.

Ground Frame for St Ruth

As a change from making locos I knocked up a quick ground frame out of some Wills signal box interior bits and some Evergreen I beam. Looks the part, I think.

It is a six lever frame with four levers for the loop points and FPLs and two for the, as yet non-existant signals. I have a pair of Chris Veitch FR disc signal in the waiting to be made pile which will be used at either end of the loop as starters.

I will also add point rodding which will be fiddly but hopefully will make the difference.

Diesel progress

Pretty much finished the body work on the new diesel yesterday including making a control panel in the cab. This almost entirely blocks the right hand door to the cab but I can live with it.

It's time for me to spoil another model with paint now. Maroon or Green? Yellow?... Blue? Only time will tell. The other main line diesel owned by the IoSR is in maroon so I suppose that would make sense for this chap too.

Here are the two machines together to give an idea of size. The painted loco is the rather wonderful Lilliput 0-4-0.

New diesel takes shape

I decided that I needed to reduce the pile of unmade kits and unused chassis in my drawer so after some consideration I decided to use a Fleischmann 0-6-0 diesel chassis under an A1 models brass body kit. It was designed to be used on the Bachmann Plymouth chassis and is supposed to use part of the body but fortunately the chassis I had to hand still had the running board attached.

I made up the cab and the bonnet and offered them up to the chassis. It needed a bit chopping off each end which I did with a razor saw. I made some buffer beams out of platicard.

I've sourced several detail parts from the box of bits and all is starting to come together nicely. Being a Fleischmann it runs very smoothly too. There is loads of room in the cab so I will make a control panel and fit a driver and glazing.

More to follow....

Cheese Factory for St Ruth

St Ruth is having an outing in August to Paul Towers exhibition in Porthmadog so I thought it should have a new feature. And so the Stoner Green Cheese factory makes one of the islands speciality cheeses which is similar to a Stilton but with a herbal additive.

The corner previously occupied by a strange small loading ramp and some greenery now has the factory and a greenhouse for growing the 'special' herbal ingredient. It makes the long siding seem more reasonable as it now leads to the loading area where milk is delivered and cheese is dispatched.

The factory is made from part of a PIKO kit, a Wills garage and various oddments including Evergreen girders. It has a couple of milk tanks, one is a PECO n gauge milk tanker body the other is a Knightwing oil tank. The greenhouse is a Skaledale one and the herbs in it are, appropriately enough, by Busch.

The factory is now a logical place for the 'Half Truckle' cheese rail lorry seen above.

Herbs a growing, perfectly legal on the Isle of Stoner.