Sunday, July 20, 2014

Up the Junction Part 2

The point work for Picton yard had been progressing fairly quickly with 11 points and the single slip crossover soldered up and ready to be detailed. These points are all Code 70.....here's how they look.




I've got a bit of a production line going and I've found I can punch out about 1.5 points per 1.5 hour session. The single slip, however, took somewhat longer as you would imagine due to the complexity but I think the effort has been worth it. My test bogie and test 4 wheel wagon both traverse all of the points smoothly with no stalls or wheel drops so I'm feeling confident they'll work ok once they're installed. I've got 4 Code 70 curve points to go as well as 9 Code 55 Points before I detail them all and paint them prior to installation. In retrospect, I should have painted all the points on the top deck before I installed them but then 20 / 20 hindsight is a wonderful thing....its something I'm very good at.


Sunday, July 6, 2014

Up the Junction

Since the last post, I've been busy building points for the bottom deck and I've just finished 27 of the suckers for the storage yards. Which means I can start to lay the track for the yard but it also creates another dilemma. What to use for a turntable? I'm going to install a 90ft turntable so I can turn anything up to a 57 class so do I go for something prototypical like the Anton's Trains example and install DCC for it or use a Walthers 90 ft 'table that already has DCC control installed? I'll have to have a think about it as I originally intended to scenic the storage yards but now the helix is installed to get to the top deck, there isn't a whole lot of space now so having an accurate turntable isn't that necessary. I just need one that is going to be reliable.

So onto other things. I've been building the points and crossover for the Loop line junction. I think I'm developing a form of "Stockholm Syndrome" You know, when you start liking the very thing that's tormenting you??? I am actually starting to enjoy building the points and crossovers. Here's how it looks at the moment.




As you can see, there's still a fair bit to go with cleaning up the solder, electrically isolating the tracks and adding sleepers and details but it seems to work OK with some limited tests on the workbench. Next, I'm going to tackle the complex point work and single slip crossover in Picton yard which will also mean I'll have broken the back of building the points. Another step closer to finishing the track laying.

Sunday, April 6, 2014

Its Been a While

Yes it has hasn't it? I said a while back that I wasn't going to post anything if there's nothing of interest to post but I thought 4 months between posts is stretching things a bit. Its not that nothing has been happening, more the fact that what has been happening is really boring. I found out that some of my road bed was warped a little. After visiting Es D and seeing his fine models, it was explained to me why by Es and Ian T. The ply I used was too thin. I should have used 12mm instead of 7mm.....God I'm a dope!!!! Anyway, I've fixed all that and now I have all the track laid on the top deck and its ready to be wired. I even managed to run a train from Picton Junction up to Thirlmere. I wanted to make sure the grade wasn't too steep so I ran my son's LNER A3 up the hill with a couple of Gresley Teaks on the drawhook. No problems. So I thought I better try some NSWGR power with a C32 and C36 as the test loco's. Not so good this time with the C36 managing 11 4 wheelers with a lot of slipping and the C32 even less. And this was with the front bogie springs modified to increase weight on the drivers.

Mittagong Storage Sidings

C32 test train at Thirlmere

C36 at Thirlmere

So with that little test out of the way, I've decided to put in a helix to lessen the grade and allow a more prototypical load to be hauled. I cut the roadbed last week ready to install but I now need to lay the bottom deck storage sidings before I can install the helix. I had intended to finish off the top deck wiring and then have a break from track laying and spend some time building some Dogboxes. Well that's not going to happen now as I'll have have to continue laying track so I can complete the Top Deck. One thing though, running some trains, even for the small time that I did, was really satisfying and has really spurred me on to getting more track laid.
On another note, my wife was doing some sculpting with my son to help him in his art classes. I don't know what possessed her but she went ahead and made a burnt out tree stump with which I was very impressed. So I suggested to her, "why don't you make some smaller versions" hint, hint. This she did and she now has a job helping me with the scenery once I get around to it. I don't think she minded too much!!

"I've suffered for my Art and now it's your turn"

That's it for the moment so it's back to the track laying again. If I disappear for another couple of months, you'll know why. Unless anyone really wants me to post more regular posts on the track laying, I'll only post something if its really worth it.

Cheers