Gettin tanked

Carrying on from the last post i managed to find the time to nearly finish the tank & stand.Since this is the first time i have used timber to construct i had to change my method of painting & weathering,first i used floquil grimy black heavily thinned as the first coat,then tamiya jn grey thinned with isocol & finaly tamiya red again thinned with isocol to represent the red lead.As for the water inlet i used a spare brake cylinder from a silvermaz S wagon kit & air tank from a BD wagon kit as the float,a length of 20 thou brass wire to connect the float to the inlet valve & 1.2 mm welding wire as the inlet pipe.Overall i am  happy with the end result.

Anyhow till next time, Booly.

Crookwell Tankstand

Well after looking on the net & magazines i could not find any info as to what type of tankstand Crookwell had.All that i could find were pictures of the concrete base for the supports,so i have used the tank & stand at Grenfell as the basis of the stand i have modeled.There are a few photos of this tank on NSWrail.net & also in AMRM June 2011 issue.
Now this is the first model i have made using scale lumber as i usually use styrene,and it certantly  wont be my last,i was impressed at how well it has turned out.Hopefully i find the time over the weekend to paint & weather,anyhow here are a few photos

More on Crookwell

Well after the last post showing the trackwork its time to show the progress of this section of the layout.The polystyrene foam was glued down & shaped with a sharp knife and what a mess this makes as we all know.Next after i was happy with the basic shape i cover the foam with plaster with brick oxide mixed in to take away the white look and also as a base colour.I start out with the mix fairly thin and brush it on,then as it starts to go off i shape by hand,laytex gloves and a bowl of water helps with  this part.I also cover the trackwork with masking tape.After the plaster has set(seams to take for ever in this cold weather)i start to add the ground cover,dirt i have gathered from various places is seived to use as the base,then sprinklings of woodlands fine turf in different colours,add a bit of course turf,then its time for the static grass,here i have used different brands & colours.I made an aplicator for the static grass from some instructions that Gary at Model Railroad Craftsman  gave me on a visit.For all of about $40 it sure beats the price of buying one.Anyhow a picture says a thousand words as they say,so here are some.

Wiring done

Well just completed the wiring for the crookwell section of the layout,test run 4803 up & down all track,no shorts or derailments. Its just a simple power bus with track droppers to all lengths of track no matter how short they are,do not rely on fish plates to carry power they are there to join track only.The wire in tube point switches i made work a treat,and as i said in my last post each one was made for $5,just a bit of time to make the brackets.For those interested i used 39 thou piano wire,1/8 OD brass tube,25thou flat brass for the mounting brackets cut to 1/2 inch lengths with a 1/8 mounting hole,1x1 inch alloy angle for the switch brackets & STDP slide switches from jaycar.The next step for this section is to start the scenery(time to make a mess with the polystyreen foam).On another note i was talking to my uncle tonite and he menchaned that there has been a passing loop layed at Gunning station behind the up platform where the line use to run in front of the cattle dock siding.Will have to make the trip down there in a few weeks to investigate and get some photos,also mite go to Crookwell to get some photos as well.

tube & mounting brackets

Switch wiring black & red track power,green for frog power.
(well frogs are green)

4803 in the stock siding.
Anyhow till next time Booly 

Crookwell progress

Well since my last post i have been busy getting the base board & track down.I have also been pondering on which way i was going to go in regards to switching the points & frog polarity.Since this is a terminous station & wont see much traffic, the cost of tortoise point motors would add another $300 to the cost($300 better spent on another Auscision 422 when they are released) so i have been looking in to wire in tube using a DPST switch.After a trip to Jaycar to get more wire for the track droppers i found the perfect switch,DPST & the slide distance is spoton for the peco point throw.So off to the hobby wholesalers near my workshop to buy some brass tube & piano wire.I just made a simple bracket off the side of the baseboard support beams.Worked out the brass tube & wire lengths soldered on 2 brackets to the tube to screw down & hey presto cheap point switches.Also my Auscicion goods shed turned up,all in all a good model,just 1 front support beam to fix up under the decking.





Simple but it works,i can make each one for about $5

 


 



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Looking down towards the station area



Anyhow till next time Booly

Still here

Yes i am still alive,its been a few weeks since my last post.Work has been busy & also drag racing as well,last month racing took up a fair bit of what little spare time i have,with winning the NSW division title,my engine expired on the last run of the season,so been working late to get a new engine built.Now onto the modelling front.In previous posts i said that i was lifting the layout upto 1.5m off the floor,well half way through this i had a brain storming idea to make more work for myself and build another station.This station will be loosely modelled on Crookwell and will be the termious for the branch line,this was previously going to be Dalton.Now i dont have the width to do this as the yard layout sits in real life so the modellers licence is coming into play (again)the turntable area is going to be just after the platform & the stock siding back up the yard off the goods siding.I have half built the station building which is a A5,the data sheet as always a great starting point for measurements & info,also i am scratch building a sellers 60Ft turntable.On my last visit to Casula Hobbies i found brass AM models turntable sides which gave me a starting point for construction,this will not be a operational part but will represent what was when Crookwell was run by steam as the period i model is late 70's-mid 80's.I also just found a auscicion G4 goods shed which i am lead to belive is a copy of the Crookwell shed,so 1 less thing to scratch build.The only structure i can not find where it was located is the gangers shed so if any one out there knows where it is located it would be apreciated.

Anyhow, time to bear the cold and get back to some more work. Booly.

It's been a few weeks

Yes it has been a few weeks since my last post,i have been busy at work,at night building kits & scatch building some of the buildings for Gunning station.The other week i picked up 2 ILM klv & 2 nldf kits from fellow bloger Mat from Mainwest blogspot,these wagons were used on the main south for the paper trains.For kits that are a few years old now they go together quite well.The station buildings that i have managed to scatch build so far are the up & down craem sheds & the up waiting.All are made from styrene & then on the down cream clad in corrigated iron.
Been the long weekend made the trip up to Thornleigh to the Epping exhibition,there were a few new layouts that i had not seen before & a few that i had,but its always good to go & get the creative juices flowing again.2 of the layouts that i liked are -O scale Arakoola,at 17M in length its 1 large layout, detail & scenery on this is great & HO scale Galgong & Boorowa,at the front of the layout are photos of the stations and yards,which in my opinion gives a better idea of the area that has been modeled.
Also i lightened the wallet with the purchace of 4 AR Kits bbw kits,just more kits to be built along with the 10 or so other various kits sitting on the bench in various stages of construction.
Anyhow till next time Booly