13.8.08
No progress but a photo opportunity
Well folks, today there was no progress on the railway (some of us do actually work for a living!), but I couldn't resist the opportunity for a 'photo shoot' in the railway yard at Jamberoo station.
Usually my locos face with the #1 end facing the buffer stops (ie, the DOWN direction) but I turned them around today.
So lined up we have my three NSW-outline diesels: from left to right, 70xx (still to be painted and numbered), 4421 and 4520.
They each had a lengthy train worked -- and shunted -- properly:
The 45's train came out first and, after running around, shunted into the goods siding out of the way.
The 70's train was next, again it ran around before shunting temporarily up onto the Freddos' siding.
Finally the 44 came out with my remaining Rapido-coupler-equipped stock and ran into the main. I rearranged some of the wagons and put the caboose on the other end before the whole thing was reassembled onto the run-around loop.
70xx's train then came back out of Freddos' siding and reversed onto the main.
I like eye-level shots - we don't look at real trains from afar, do we?
But this shot was taken by a fit young lad climbing up a power pole:
We finished the shoot with a shot of the noses of the locos, lined up, with Alwyn Fredericks' house seen atop the highest point in Macquarie St, Jamberoo.
Usually my locos face with the #1 end facing the buffer stops (ie, the DOWN direction) but I turned them around today.
So lined up we have my three NSW-outline diesels: from left to right, 70xx (still to be painted and numbered), 4421 and 4520.
They each had a lengthy train worked -- and shunted -- properly:
The 45's train came out first and, after running around, shunted into the goods siding out of the way.
The 70's train was next, again it ran around before shunting temporarily up onto the Freddos' siding.
Finally the 44 came out with my remaining Rapido-coupler-equipped stock and ran into the main. I rearranged some of the wagons and put the caboose on the other end before the whole thing was reassembled onto the run-around loop.
70xx's train then came back out of Freddos' siding and reversed onto the main.
I like eye-level shots - we don't look at real trains from afar, do we?
But this shot was taken by a fit young lad climbing up a power pole:
We finished the shoot with a shot of the noses of the locos, lined up, with Alwyn Fredericks' house seen atop the highest point in Macquarie St, Jamberoo.
Labels: rolling_stock, scenery
12.8.08
We have some hills and scenery now! And 10 Micro-trains coupler-equipped boxcars.
When 'starting out' in N-scale some 12 months ago, I already owned one piece of N-scale equipment, albeit 1:150 rather than 1:160: the Ibertren 'World Series' Alco, painted locally by someone as 4421. I bought it second hand years ago on the off chance I might some day become an N-scaler and it was a 'grab it when you can' type of deal. I think in the mid 1990s it cost me about $119. I also had a second-hand N-scale US-outline Minitrix caboose... I had dabbled in HOn2 1/2 many moons ago and its chassis was to have been the basis of something for the narrow gauge.
I was aware from my days working part-time at Northside Model Railways in West Pennnat Hills (for the late Darrel Nelson) that N-scale US-outline boxcars were very cheap... so I went onto eBay and bought a few... I think I have about 15 or so now! I've also got two end-platform ('observation platform' carriages from the US and a set of Great Northern 'streamliner' carriages, plus a minitrix set bought off ebay.
So I planned that as soon as I got some of my aussie rollingstock converted to MT couplings, some of this stuff would follow.
So as of today: 10 boxcars using microtrains 1031s plus my 70-class (on the minitrix 0-6-0 diesel shunter chassis) now has microtrains couplings too.
I had a bit of fun shunting my growing micro-trains fleet with the 70 and the 45, before running several special trains to clear the layout:
- 4520 took several boxcars plus the 3 MT-equipped K wagons + my COR tank wagon to Dunmore
- 70xx took the remainder of the boxcars.
- Thomas (now my only decent Rapido-equipped runner!) came and collected the Peco 4-wheel milk tanker and the 3 Rapido-equipped K wagons.
Despite Jamberoo being on the valley floor - and at the edge of the upstream end of the floodplain, our beloved little village is quite hilly: The main street only ranges from between 25 and 29 metres above sea level - that's not hilly. (The floodplain ranges is about 10-20 metres above sea level). But the highest point of Macquarie St, two streets back from Allowrie, is 60 metres above sea level.
So armed with the calculations of the heights of the various parts of Jamberoo (thanks to google earth!), we cut up some soft foam rubber using our 'spare' electric kitchen knife - a wedding gift I've rescued from being 'donated' to others many times!
This method is one I've never heard of before, but we had heaps of the foam lying around courtesy of a mattress that was 'trimmed' to fit in my daughter's half-size single bed. Once we have a basic form we shall papier mache the landscape.
The pictures show that the heights seem exaggerated; at one level they are: their vertical plane is to scale, but the horizontal plane is compressed. I got this idea on Saturday while sitting in a car on Tate Place (long story; has to do with my job as a minister!). Basically, from the northern end of Tate Place, looking south, one can see the houses in the part of Jamberoo represented by our model railway and they look 'compressed' and almost on top of one another... as they ascend the hill, there is a visual effect that they are closer to each other than they are.
And so we have deliberately compressed the horizontal while maintaining the vertical.
There is much more work to be done yet - but as the State Government says, "still a long way to go but we're heading in the right direction". Unlike the State Government, I expect to deliver.
Labels: micro_trains, progress, rolling_stock, scenery
10.8.08
Fitting micro-trains couplings to the Aust-N-Rail K Wagon
I tried googling this article when I couldn't find the printed version, so now I've found the printed version I thought I'd place it here for others to use when they need it.
I trust Graeme Goodsell is ok with this! If not, I'll write my own procedure. I've added a few comments to Graeme's article anyway.
Aust-N-Rail's ready to run K wagon comes supplied with Rapido style couplers, but it is a simple task to substitute Micro-Trains 1015 body mount couplers.
Place the wagon upside down on a firm surface, being careful to avoid damaging the finely moulded brake wheels and steps. With a sharp hobby knife cut horizontally along the coupler pocket to remove plastic retaining the Rapido coupler. Remove the coupler and spring. Make two vertical cuts in the coupler pocket to line up with the width of the 1015 coupler. Remove plastic from between these cuts to the depth of the pocket. Glenn says: This means removing some body plastic as well as from the coupling box. Trim the slot square and remove the end of the spring post in the pocket (see photo). Test fit 1015 coupler (it should be a firm press fit) and check coupler height.
For a permanent fit, glue in place (with a dot of Selleys water based Kwik Grip or similar) being careful not to get glue in the Micro-Trains coupler box. Alternatively fix with shortened Micro-Trains screws.
These photos highlight the steps in the article above.
Converted to Microtrains Coupling and ready to go!
This is a beautiful RTR model which can now take pride of place in your wagon roster.
I trust Graeme Goodsell is ok with this! If not, I'll write my own procedure. I've added a few comments to Graeme's article anyway.
Fitting Micro-Trains Couplers to the Aust-N-Rail K Wagon
by Graeme Goodsell
Aust-N-Rail's ready to run K wagon comes supplied with Rapido style couplers, but it is a simple task to substitute Micro-Trains 1015 body mount couplers.
Place the wagon upside down on a firm surface, being careful to avoid damaging the finely moulded brake wheels and steps. With a sharp hobby knife cut horizontally along the coupler pocket to remove plastic retaining the Rapido coupler. Remove the coupler and spring. Make two vertical cuts in the coupler pocket to line up with the width of the 1015 coupler. Remove plastic from between these cuts to the depth of the pocket. Glenn says: This means removing some body plastic as well as from the coupling box. Trim the slot square and remove the end of the spring post in the pocket (see photo). Test fit 1015 coupler (it should be a firm press fit) and check coupler height.
For a permanent fit, glue in place (with a dot of Selleys water based Kwik Grip or similar) being careful not to get glue in the Micro-Trains coupler box. Alternatively fix with shortened Micro-Trains screws.
These photos highlight the steps in the article above.
Converted to Microtrains Coupling and ready to go!
This is a beautiful RTR model which can now take pride of place in your wagon roster.
Labels: micro_trains, rolling_stock
K-Wagons fixed; sky re-painted
Well, after complaining in my last post that my attempt to put Micro-Trains 1015 couplings onto my first K-wagon was a disaster (and it was!) I 'miraculously' rediscovered the "NSW N-Scale Group" newsletter that had the instructions. I'll post them here, trusting that Graeme Goodsell who wrote them would be ok with this!
I fitted two more K wagons with the couplings (this exhausted my supply) and refitted the original one and all three are fine now!
You can see the 'lighter' coloured sky in the background - still looks dark in this photo taken on a mobile phone camera. But compared with older shots it's much lighter!
I also repainted the sky - it was a vivid, bright blue so I attempted to put a wash of white paint over the top. Not as successful as I'd have liked, but it does the job for now. I can't put 'Saddleback Mountain' on the backscene until the scenery--at least in its basic form--is in place.
The next thing is to fix the track that is misaligned where the two baseboards join, but that's simple.
A good day for the Jamberoo Railway I'd say.
I fitted two more K wagons with the couplings (this exhausted my supply) and refitted the original one and all three are fine now!
You can see the 'lighter' coloured sky in the background - still looks dark in this photo taken on a mobile phone camera. But compared with older shots it's much lighter!
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| From Jamberoo Rail... |
I also repainted the sky - it was a vivid, bright blue so I attempted to put a wash of white paint over the top. Not as successful as I'd have liked, but it does the job for now. I can't put 'Saddleback Mountain' on the backscene until the scenery--at least in its basic form--is in place.
The next thing is to fix the track that is misaligned where the two baseboards join, but that's simple.
A good day for the Jamberoo Railway I'd say.
Labels: micro_trains, progress, rolling_stock
7.8.08
More Micro-Trains couplings (what a disaster!)
Well, today I had my first attempt at fitting a Microtrains 1015 coupling to an Aust-N-Rail K wagon. I remembered reading that Rob Carpenter (the designer of the K wagon and Mr Aust-N-Rail himself) had designed the coupler boxes to take 1015s quite easily, so I hacked away. Everything went swimmingly except that my couplings are way too low! I discovered that Microtrains couplings are a little trickier than I expected--more practice needed.
Anyway, I had some fun with our little consist of three wagons. Zoë the 2.5 yr old train enthusiast asked if we could run 'her' Thomas (who has been purchased for use on our tail-chaser layout for the church fete display).
Here are some photos:
Above: 4520 has crested the grade from Dunmore and is easing its train down to the Minnamurra River crossing.
Above: Descending the 1:40 grade down to the river.
Above: Crossing the river and floodplain.
Above: The floodplain, with an old dairy in the background.
Above: Coming off the floodplain and approaching the Dairy Factory.
Above: 4520 has crested the grade from Dunmore and is easing its train down to the Minnamurra River crossing.
Above: Entering the village boundaries.
Above: Shunting the oil siding
Above: Running around the train.
Above: 4520's little train has been placed in the run-around loop awaiting the arrival of the passenger service.
Above: The passenger train arrives!
Above: View from Mt Saddleback.
That's all for now: Lunch hour is over and it's time to go back to work!
Glenn.
Anyway, I had some fun with our little consist of three wagons. Zoë the 2.5 yr old train enthusiast asked if we could run 'her' Thomas (who has been purchased for use on our tail-chaser layout for the church fete display).
Here are some photos:
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| From Jamberoo Rail... |
Above: Descending the 1:40 grade down to the river.
Above: Crossing the river and floodplain.
Above: The floodplain, with an old dairy in the background.
Above: Coming off the floodplain and approaching the Dairy Factory.
Above: 4520 has crested the grade from Dunmore and is easing its train down to the Minnamurra River crossing.
Above: Entering the village boundaries.
Above: Shunting the oil siding
Above: Running around the train.
Above: 4520's little train has been placed in the run-around loop awaiting the arrival of the passenger service.
Above: The passenger train arrives!
Above: View from Mt Saddleback.
That's all for now: Lunch hour is over and it's time to go back to work!
Glenn.
Labels: micro_trains, progress, rolling_stock
6.8.08
I assembled my first Micro-Trains couplers!
I'm very excited because I've assembled my first pair of Micro-Trains couplers.
When I modelled HO scale I had no troubles assembling Kadees (the HO equivalents) but the N-scale ones are a tad tinier! Rory's advice to assemble them on the plastic sprue saved me from buying a jig and I fitted my first pair to the C.O.R. tanker that's been waiting for couplers for over a year! It's pictured here sans coupling:
I'm very excited... and now I can run my 45 class (see previous post) with two wagons!
When I modelled HO scale I had no troubles assembling Kadees (the HO equivalents) but the N-scale ones are a tad tinier! Rory's advice to assemble them on the plastic sprue saved me from buying a jig and I fitted my first pair to the C.O.R. tanker that's been waiting for couplers for over a year! It's pictured here sans coupling:
I'm very excited... and now I can run my 45 class (see previous post) with two wagons!
Labels: 45, micro_trains, new_loco, progress, rolling_stock
No progress but we have a new loco!
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| From Jamberoo Rail... |
Well, there's been absolutely no progress on the Jamberoo Railway since the last post in March.
But yesterday I received my long-awaited ready-to-run Aust-N-Rail/Peter Boorman's Workshop 45 class fresh from the 'factory'.
She's fantastic!
I only have one wagon running at present with Micro-Trains couplings--so only the TRC Wagon from Pallas Hobbies is running with MT bogies/couplings. So that's all we've been running with for the time being.
What a great loco!
Here are some low-quality snaps taken with my mobile-phone camera.
And yes, it's inspired us to resume progress on the layout... so has the 'deadline' of the church fete in October!!!
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Labels: 45, micro_trains, new_loco, rolling_stock
16.10.07
Rolling Stock Update
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