Look at what just arrived

Well the wait is over the Auscision 422's are here mine just got delivered my Aust Post.Very nice indeed

Lesson learnt

As mentioned in a previous post i was worried that the shop i had 2 of the auscision 422's ordered at would not be delivered.Well my worries were confermed.after contacting Auscision to order another 2 locos's they told me that any orders that are not directly through them will not be supplied,they fulfill all direct orders then if there are any left over the shops get them.I personally think they have underesimated how well they will sell.So i miss out on 42220 f##*!. The reason i ordered through a shop is i like to support the shops as much as i can because without the shops in my opinion the hobby wont survive, and to the shops owner he gave me a full refund  as soon as he knew of the situation.So lesson learnt in future i will order direct with the manufacturer so i wont have the disapointment of missing out on what want.On another note when i spoke to Auscision on friday they said that the 422's are on the ship now and should be here in about 1 week so the wait is nearly over.Till next time Booly

Track Laying

The track laying has been going at a rapid rate on the Yass side of the layout & i have also finally attached the base boards for the storage yards & layed the track.Before i dismantled the original centre section which houses Yass & Jerrawa i took measurements so i could relay the track the same,thankfully it worked,it all went down the same.The end sections for the upper & lower decks have been constructed & fitted.I have worked out the manual point switching mechanisms for  all 40 + points on the upper deck of the layout,but i will save that for another post.
I contacted Auscision during the week(the wait is nearly over,(6 weeks they said) & ordered 2 422'S,Bicentenial 18 & reverse 12.The Bicentenial will replace the Lima one i repowered with a athern mech & fitted with a TC-1 decoder(might be up for sale),hopefully the other 2 422's i ordered through a shop will get supplied as well cause if i miss out on these 2 ill be very annoyed especially as 1 of these 2 is 42220 which is listed as sold out before they even arrive & when i was speeking to Auscision they said that a rerun of the 422's would not happen for at least 2- 3 years,and the rerun might include the later liveries they carry in private ownership.

Yass leading around to the storage yards on the right

Close-up of the upper & lower ends

Anyhow till next time Booly

Storage yards

I had to slightly modify the stair landing, this is the door from inside the house to the layout room



Drop down bridge up

Down

Layout progress

As mentioned in a previous post i made the decision to rebuild the centre section of the layout.A freind of mine who is a carpenter came to my asistance & built the whole lot for me and i must say he has done a fantastic job.The whole section was made in 2 sections at his factory & transported to my house in a pantec truck and screwed together in about 10 minutes.Then we spent a lot of time to get it level(my garage floor is far from level).The main suport legs are 70x35 structural pine,top deck & branch frames are 42x19 pine.The main structural strength comes frome the backdrops for the branch line 16mm MDF which runs the length of the structure the result is a very sturdy setup.I have begun to construct the branch line with risers upto 7mm ply for the track bed with the rest of the area to be filled with extuded foam to have the scenery rising & falling along the track.Here is a few photos.
Till next time Booly.

The 2 main base sections the top deck frame in lower right

Rear main frame

Leveling up the frame

All in top deck frame screwed on

Top deck frame,this will have 12mm structural ply screwed on

Working out the track plan with cardboard templates

Risers installed & 7mm ply track bed

Track down ready for the extruded foam for scenery,all track had power droppers installed before the track was layed. 

Holliday snaps

During my recent trip visiting my grandfather & uncle down on the farm (it was good to get out of Sydney for a few days)i managed to take a few snaps of grain trains on the main south.Also i went to Goulburn rail heritage centre & Crookwell.
The Goulburn rail heritage centre is located on the Braidwood road to the south of town & it was a very pleasurable visit.I arrived just after 10am & was the first of many visitors to take the tour.Now i must apologise i have forgotten the gentlemans name that conductored the tour, but his knowledge of the exhibits & area were fantastic.I had a quick look through the driver & firemans register on display & found 2 relatives on my fathers side that were based at the Goulburn depot.Aparently i also have relatives that worked as signal men at Goulburn as well, but they dont not keep those records.Plenty to look at & well worth the visit.
Now onto Crookwell :- i tried to contact the people in charge of the yard but no answer to my phonecalls.So i hadnt come all this way not to get some photos,so a quick walk around the yard to get some photos.The station building is still intact & restored,as well as the goods shed but the timbers on the deck are showing there age.Got plenty of picks of the turntable which will help when scratch building my own version.

Fish River tank

8177 & 72 on a up grain just south of Oolong

8180 & 08 down grain Fish River

8180 & 08 again at Jerrawa

My eldest son Blane as the controls of 4821 @ Goulburn

Underside of 4821

Drivers stand on a tin hare Rail Motor

1 of 3 paybuses stored at Goulburn

Wheel lathe

Crookwell Goods shed

Crookwell Station

Tuff decision

With the holiday season on us & the chance to close my workshop for 2 weeks,i decided to tackle the task of lifting the centre section of the layout which houses Yass & Jerrawa.This is quite a large section 20Ft X 4FT.I started with a high lift trolley jack from work &  'T' support pieceof 3 X 2 and starting at 1 end jacked up & chocked each leg as i went untill i reached the other end & kept working back & forth.I got it up about 1 ft and then realised that the way i was going to place the main support legs was not going to work @#$@@##!.( im a mechanic/race engine builder NOT a carpenter)So A Quick call to 1 of my customers Tristan from work and he came over & had a look at what ive done & what I want to do.
So on his sugestion i have come to realise that the only way to do what i want is to pull it all down & start again.So we measured up what i want & he has already started on the new section and said he should have it ready for me next week,What a legend !.
So now the task of ripping up all the track & wiring that was already done,a bit heart breaking but i will end up with a lot better & stronger layout.So what i will end up with is the top deck at 1450 mm high and 1200mm wide then the branch line running 370mm underneath @ 250mm in from the edge.
Thats all for now tomorrow im off to see my grandfather at Dalton,on the way down im stop in at Goulburn railway museum  to have a look & then on Friday im going to Crookwell to get some photos & have a look round the yard.
Till next time happy modelling. Booly.

                                                                                                                                   

The Fat man came early

Well ill start with the reason for the lack of posts,none at all just been slack.
Next i wish all fellow modellers a Merry Xmas & happy new year.
Well as the post is named the fat man came early we all know the only way to get what you want for christmas is to get your own presents.So last night after work i went out to Casula Hobbies.As usual Ross was behind the counter & greated me as i entered,it is always a pleasure to go there, all the staff are friendly & helpfull.
So i picked out a pack of Auscision NLKY Louvere vans on the counter & Ross picked it out in one guess."buying yourself a christmas present are we",then Lorrie walked in later & said the same thing,Classic how we all think the same.
As mentioned several posts ago i had started building a few Ian Lindsay Models NLKY wagons[they are nearly ready for painting]now i have the Auscision ones to use as a guide for the underfloor detail.
Also i have been building a few Casula Pc 1's for the branch line these are so easy to put together.

New out of the box they wont stay this clean for to long