Painted signal

Signal is now painted, just needs a layout to go on now...

Signal pics

I spent a happy hour or two last evening glueing my fingers to my new signal but the final results look promising. It ends up a very expensive item done this way but I think future versions won't use the bits from the Chris Veitch kit. The etched bracket looks very fine, thanks to Bernard and Tom for these.

 

With a Parkside Dundas van for size comparison.

Silver dream machine

Here are some pictures of the new 0-4-0 on the Tomix Percy chassis.

Still got some work to do it but basically I'm pleased with the look of this loco. Quite like Percy but bigger.

I'm going to have a fiddle with my new Dapol signal this evening, I'm going to use the ladder and platform from a Chris Veitch FR signal and leave it at that I think, the arm is oversize for n gauge and looks fine next to my 009 stock. It is slightly shorter than the FR signal but only by a couple of mil.

Doris brings a train into the platform.

I've also decided to put my A1 models diesel on evilbay, we did the household accounts today... Shame as it came out quite well, first fully soldered kit too.

Percy strikes back

Last year Lady Stoner gave me a Tomix Percy for my birthday. It ran very well in one direction but had a limp in the other so I took it apart and then lost interest in it. I then lost it in the pile of crap known as my work bench....

Time passes...

I cleared up the workbench, a bit, last week and found the box of bits with Percy in it. I put him back together again and with a bit of fettling he ran very sweetly. Result. I had intended to use a Chivers Cackler kit for the basis of my conversion and this has gone ahead using the cab and fittings from this kit and some other bits from the big box of stuff. This includes a different saddle tank and smokebox. It has the look of a Corris Falcon on steroids which is a not altogether unpleasant thing. I am again separated from a camera so there are no pics yet but I'll post some next week. I have a few details still to add and I will try to hide the motor which rather fills the cab too but otherwise it is mostly done. It went together very easily which is usually a good sign.

The standard of my newer locos is much higher than some of the earlier ones so a couple of old favourites will appear on evil bay soon. Sad to see them go but I have far too many locos already and there are several kits waiting in the drawer and numerous prototypes I'd like to have a crack at. I'm skint too.

These are the first 2 to go under the hammer. I may have a go at making a new version of Lily the first loco which was vaguely based on IoMR Caledonia.

Pictures of progress

I haven't got much further than before but I did get a couple of pictures which give an idea of where I'm going. The next down hill section will have the intermediate station which will have a passing loop on it. After that the line goes into a tunnel behind my work bench, however I will get the railway working as far as the the loop so that I can play trains again. This means a scary amount of rewiring... gulp.

I think these give the idea, I'm making the trackbed first and then I'll add scenery around it once the track is layed and functioning. The far corner will have a Coed y Bleiddiau feel about it with a cottage and a stream under the line, one of my favourite FR locations.

Meanwhile Underhill board 1 is pretty much complete, it runs very nicely and I even managed to work out why the new 0-6-0 red diesel didn't run well. I'd managed to bend one set of contacts away from the wheels so it only had 1 set picking up current. Runs like a dream at slow speed now.

I had to use a flash on this which is not flattering and shows up even more defects than ordinary light. I have to make the storage place for it in the garage before I can embark upon the other board for this. Exhibition in December is the deadline... bet I'm still working on it the night before.

Underhill pics

A couple of pictures taken in the mid 1930s at underhill have come to light recently.

They are a bit grainy but they show how little underhill has changed. It also shows that the Fairlie Lord Stoner and the 0-6-0 Doris were both in steam and in action at this time.

Going down hill

Grabbed a bit of time in the garage today and started doing some woodwork for the next section of the mainline. This is where the down hill run starts and I'm not convinced that the gradient is slight enough so the next thing I shall do is lay some temporary track and wire up a controller and do some tests. Where the line reaches the wall and turns to come back under St Ruth I've levelled it out as I think that a stiff climb and a tightish curve might be too much... also my woodwork isn't up to it. I can't do much more as I've run out of timber and cash.

I'm going to build a road over bridge to make a scenic break between  the hill and St Ruth which is supposed to be at sea level. The line crosses over the estuary and then drops down hill in reality so i need to break the two up.

No pics as I left the camera at work.

Going Loco

I've done a few bits and bobs to the new 0-8-0 which will be called 'Nancy'. I've changed the pipes to the cylinders for some a bit smaller but they are still quite long, still it actually works by electric so the practicalities don't bother me: if it looks right itis right and it looks ok to me.

It looks  a bit odd still, I think the dome needs replacing or at least the top needs to be more rounded.

Quite pleased but it still has some fettling until I'm happy with it. The chassis runs OK but could be better and it is quite noisy, I'll try some lubrication and see if it will go round the test track for a run in. Its a Fleischmann so it should be excellent and at the moment its only OK.