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mick

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Everything posted by mick

  1. Are the points manually operated Chris? I guess they must be if it's causing you grief but I felt the same way when I had motorised points on my passing loop - it always seemed too much faffing about changing them with the handset. It's the reason I decided to spring them but I am aware that's not possible in most situations. I quite enjoy throwing the point switches in the shed by the way. It's difficult to make any sensible suggestions for junctions when I'm not familiar with how you actually work but at least you have your Monday running sessions where you can throw ideas around. I'm sure you'll come up with something.
  2. I've finished dirtying the Cargowaggons/Ferryvans (whatever they're called) and managed to give them a run up in the attic before they make their way down to Worsley Dale where they are intended to be. There was the usual problem with the Kadee coupling on the Heljan wagons being at the wrong height and I had to cut and carve another of my mountings so that it would stay coupled to the locomotive - only damaging one buffer in the process. I am quite pleased with how they've turned out and more so the fact that I've actually managed to accomplish a task that I'd set myself some time ago. I found a video on YouTube depicting the West Highland line in 1999/2000 with various class 37 workings among others. One such working was a pair of EWS liveried class 37s hauling a rake of Cargowaggon/Ferryvans and it was that video which gave me the idea and inspiration to attempt to recreate it on Worsley Dale. Listening to my pair circling the attic and viewing the video again they look and sound remarkably similar so I can't wait to get them outdoors at some point. Below is one of the Heljan wagons.... ...and one of the RevolutioN Trains holdalls. I haven't gone overboard with the weathering but looking at prototype photos online I could well have done much more, including graffiti!
  3. One of the things I noticed when I brought stock back out onto Worsley Dale was that some of the Kadee couplings I had fitted myself were slightly too high, especially the ones on some HEA hopper wagons where I had fitted an NEM mounting block beneath the chassis floor. I decided to remedy that today and took them all up into the attic so I could work on them. It involved removing the mounting blocks and gluing some packing in place before replacing the mounts. It was one of those jobs that I could have left for a number of months before doing anything about it but something told me today was the day! With them all at more or less the same height it makes marshalling trains much easier. I can't say they are all absolutely spot on even now but they are close enough to make them reliable. While I was in the shed I also noticed my rake of Heljan IWB Cargowaggons sitting on the shelf, sparkling in their pristine livery. They've been like that ever since I got them, waiting for the time to come when I eventually get round to putting some dirt on them. At the moment they are far too clean to be seen running on the layout. I decided to take them, along with the 2 RevolutioN IZA's that are also sparkling clean, up into the attic with me and make a start on them once I had sorted the Kadee couplings. This is one of the IZA sFins2 Holdall wagons from RevolutioN trains that I received along with my IWA log carriers a few months back. And this is how I've started dirtying them up by applying a diluted enamel wash that perhaps looks a bit too brown in the photo but is actually darker than that. I just paint it on with a large brush and then dab it back off again with some paper kitchen towel. The photo below shows how it looks with the paint applied to the left side of the wagon and how it looks after 'dabbing' off on the right side. And this is the wagon after that initial treatment, just lightly weathered. I'll need to get the airbrush out to finish them off but I like to do the initial weathering so that it isn't just a flat sprayed finish. I managed to do the whole batch of 5 Heljan and 2 RevolutioN so sometime soon they should be making an appearance on the layout.
  4. From the album: Skew Bridge - Attic Railway

    EWS liveried 37411 and 37419 pass Skew Bridge with a loaded steel coil train.
  5. It's been a few weeks since there was anything running on Skew Bridge but after an enjoyable day in the garden yesterday I decided to have a short session up in the attic this afternoon. If there's anything guaranteed to put a smile on your face then it's the sound of a class 37 so I doubled up on my 2 EWS ones, attached them to the steel coils and simply let them run while I captured some action on video. Unfortunately the acoustics in the attic don't do DCC sound justice due in part (I believe) to the foil insulation fastened to the roof which appears to deflect sound back down into and all around the confines of the attic space, particularly when heard back on video. 37411 and 37419 head past Skew Bridge with the steel coils. The rear loco (37419) is unpowered and operates as a dummy loco but has a sound decoder and speaker fitted so they are a great pair to double head as there's no problem keeping them running smoothly together.
  6. In theory, the Z21 method would seem to be perfectly fool-proof but as you point out, there's the differences in start voltage and acceleration/decelertion to contend with. I read an article somewhere about speed-matching loco's which goes into details about altering the speed 'curves' but it's not something that could easily be applied to your entire loco fleet. By far the best way to create a trouble-free double-header is to remove the drive mechanism from the rear loco! There's a practical use for all those non-runners. I don't normally film anything inside the shed as I tend to focus primarily on the outside - it's usually a bit too dull within the shed. The parapet walls have been repaired several times over and there is still a couple of missing bits that I haven't yet completed. I have no experience of the 24's either but for some reason these were another one of my 'must have' purchases when they were first released. To be honest I am so glad I bought them as they are above anything else that's been available before or since. I'm not about to start buying more loco's but if these are anything to go by the same companies forthcoming class 25's will be awesome - it's just that I feel I can now resist those earlier temptations.
  7. I didn't have quite so much video footage as I thought but I've put a few minutes worth together here. That's probably just as well because the sound from these two is pretty overpowering and can become monotonous after a while when viewing on video. You really do need to be lineside to appreciate them fully - simply amazing. As I've mentioned in the video description, they fill the garden with sound and in places you can hear it reverberating off the garden fencing even though you are some distance away. You often hear them long before they come into view as you'll see.
  8. It was suggested by a viewer on YouTube that 2 class 24's would look good working freight so I thought it would be a good idea to have a go, not realising at the time just what a challenge it would turn out to be. I have two SLW BR Blue class 24 loco's which, despite them being from the same stable, do not run perfectly well together. So using the Z21 program I added traction details for my 2 blue class 24's, timing them running over a measured length of trackwork at various speed settings. There was quite a difference in timings, as I expected. Once my timings were complete and the details entered into Z21 I consisted the locos together hoping they would fare much better but the improvement was only slight. Turning one loco round did improve things and I decided it was enough for me to work with as I didn't wish to spend all day at it. I spent some time capturing a number of video clips, which I have yet to view so I don't know how they will turn out, but for now I'll add the following four photos which I took in-between filming. Taken with the DSLR, 24081 and 24009 doublehead the loaded OTA log wagons, passing through Watch House tunnel. And taken using my phone camera, the same loco's emerging from Watch House tunnel with the log train. Earlier in the day 24081 and 24009 were captured passing over Stack Gill viaduct with a mixed freight. And for a bit of variety there was an additional trip with a short coal train. I'm not sure that all these wagons would have been seen behind BR Blue class 24's but it's all about enjoyment and having fun out there.
  9. It's all down to selective focus Chris!
  10. In my experience I'm not sure that would work with my sprung points. It would just add resistance to the operation of the tie bar making it difficult (almost impossible) for the less heavy wagons to push the blades over and run through them. I think they would just ride up over the rails unless heavily weighted. I find it is only the point blade away from the spinging wire that edges forwards because the spring wire that is soldered to the side of the rail connects into the tie bar itself and holds that side in place. I have yet to try any modifications to prevent the blades moving forward. I haven't found it such a big issue to make it a priority but agree that over time the blades do move forward - I just slide them back into place until the next time. I was hoping to improve my design when installing sprung points along the bottom of the garden but I haven't as yet decided to install them there. I might still have another go though because I'm up for the challenge!
  11. I uploaded this video yesterday evening but I'll just post it here now for reference as I'd had enough last night.
  12. Yikes!...I'm glad you got back in time too! I've been getting very flustered trying to capture video too. It's nice to do but certainly not enjoyable at the time. I was trying to film one piece along the bottom of the garden with the GoPro on the tripod. I was intending panning round so one hand on the tripod, streaming the view to my phone (other hand) so I could see what was happening, trying to use the hand-held to control the train and then the batteries went flat in the controller. I think I just need a simple day running trains without the added pressure of capturing video. It's nice to see the blockwork coming together, they make a great solid base for the track.
  13. I've gradually been getting some more stock out onto the layout though it's all ones that have been seen previously. I don't expect there being anything new anytime soon although I do have two RevolutioN Cargowaggons that haven't yet been seen either on Skew Bridge or Worsley Dale. They arrived along with my IWA log wagons a few weeks/months ago now so I might give them a run in the coming days and see if they perform any better in the garden than the log carriers did. I attempted to do a bit of filming today but I find it gets in the way of actually enjoying running trains. I'm not sure it's worth it to be honest as you can't sit back and relax when you've got a controller in one hand, gopro camera in another and nowhere left to hold your phone. I never was any good at juggling. 24009 was never intended to be a 'Scottish' loco for Worsley Dale. It was one of many impulse purchases I made and I only recently discovered that it actually spent time in Scotland between 1971-75 so that's good enough for me to add it to the roster. Being a Sutton Loco Works model fitted with sound and stay-alive it performs brilliantly and sounds as good as any loco I've heard. Saying that...I'd had it running for probably 30-60 minutes before I just happened to notice something by the side of the track near Low Shott viaduct and it turned out to be a sandbox & pipe. I hadn't had any mishaps so it had obviously just fallen off. I consider myself extremely fortunate to have seen it. 37401 'Mary Queen of Scots' is one of my 'go to' loco's along with 37025. I tend to grab the weathered ones before the pristine ones although I haven't yet dared tackle the SLW 24's. 37401 is seen here at one of my favourite locations for photographs as it exits Stack Gill viaduct and runs along Stackgarth Gill. Another of my favourite photograph spots is by the side of Low Shott viaduct and 37401 is seen crossing the viaduct immediately before entering the shed and Shieling Bridge station hauling one of my favourite wagon rakes - the OTA log wagons. And although the weather today has been extremely pleasant, during the early part of the day it was almost impossible to get photos or videos that were not affected by sun shining directly in the camera lens or that didn't have the shadow of the camera itself (or worse..me) in the foreground. 45010 had direct sunlight to contend with as it hauls the West Highland excursion rake across Stack Gill viaduct.
  14. I've only just seen your APT video Barry which shows how much notice I've been taking lately. It's great to see it in action and it looks really nice though I did gasp a bit when I saw it hurtling down towards the camera and over that point!
  15. Nice progress Archie...and quite a bit of it! The Electrofrog point needn't be a problem, you would just need insulating rail joiners on the two inner rails at the 'v' (frog) end. You'd just need to ensure that the track ahead of the isolated rails has it's own power feeds.
  16. Not a problem Ken, health must always come first. One thing you'll quickly realise about garden railway construction is that it's nearly always a slow and steady process, at least that's the way it's been for many of us. Some of us have been at it for several years, others have simply been thinking about it for many years and have yet to make a start but we're all in it together.
  17. I've not had much time to spend on the layout today which is probably just as well considering the way things were going. I thought it would be a good idea to put a rake of early BR Blue Mk2 coaches together, change couplings, add corridor connectors etc.... I don't think they've ever been on the layout before but I wasn't expecting any problems. They were all fitted with tension lock couplings resulting in quite a sizeable gap between coaches so I thought the Hornby R8220 bar couplings would be a suitable alternative but the mounting pockets on the coaches are set so far back that with the bar couplings fitted I couldn't get the coaches to couple. I could, at a push, angle the coaches to connect the couplings but then they were far from happy about running through pointwork. I had the same problems trying Kadee's and even the Extra Long No.20 was insufficient. In the end I reluctantly decided to use the Bachmann 'pipe' type couplings as they bring the coaches very close together but also make it almost impossible to couple up a 6 coach rake. I had the six coaches laid on their sides along the track while I connected the pipes and attempted to put the coaches upright. I found that a Kadee No.20 on the leading coach was just sufficiently long to couple to the Kadee on a loco except it sits much too high when placed in the Bachmann NEM pocket. The coaches came uncoupled in the station without me noticing and the loco proceeded to circle the garden and collide heavily with the rear coach. A tangled mess. I've now removed the standard cam coupling mechanism from the leading coach and glued my own NEM base onto the underside of the coach floor at a suitable distance for a Kadee to fit reliably but annoyingly it's still set a fraction too high and I'll need to redo it. Below is 37026 'Loch Awe' attempting to haul the 6 coach rake. This was taken just before the impending collision in Shieling Bridge station. Another problem is that two of the coaches tend to lean to one side which looks slightly odd when seen in the rake. I'm not sure yet what's causing that but I am confident that a big hammer will sort them out if nothing else does. The coach second from the rear below is one of those that has a slight lean to the left. I am however looking forward to getting things back up and running. I do enjoy the railway layouts but they can be immensely frustrating at times, in fact quite a lot of the time. What I'm aiming to do is assemble the stock I want to use on Worsley Dale, put them in rakes, and keep it all together so it doesn't become mixed up with the stock for Skew Bridge. It's a real shame that things such as couplings should otherwise detract from what can be a thoroughly enjoyable leisure activity but it has to be the most frustrating aspect of the whole hobby.
  18. This Kestrel was taken from the garden yesterday morning. It looks very similar to the one in the previous post but that one was taken 10 days ago. I've had the camera close by all day today and seen nothing apart from a distant buzzard.
  19. A little bit more progress today with the rock face in the cutting at Buttlebank, running along the bottom of the garden. I've added a layer of cement soaked material to the chicken wire former along the front edge of the board but it's going to need another layer as it feels too brittle now that it's dried. I was hoping I could get away with one but it's going to need at least another layer if it's to be strong enough to take any knocks. I spent the rest of the day running 26024 round as I still haven't got round to getting any more loco's down from the attic. Believe it or not I left it running for almost 3 hours only swapping from the 6 empty OTA wagons... ...to the 3 BR MK1's Despite the amount of work this little loco has got through over the years I've had it, it still performs almost faultlessly. It's got a couple of creaks and squeaks now but it rarely ever lets me down. The photos with 26024 give an idea of how this section of the layout is going to be once I can get it finished. The rock faces need more refining but it is beginning to resemble the kind of terrain this type of loco would have worked through. Single or double track? ....still undecided but erring towards leaving it single but maybe with the remnants of a previous track or unused siding alongside. Once I'd put the loco away I decided to add corridor connectors to the 3 coaches as well as a tail lamp on the end of what will now be the last vehicle. I also added a tail lamp on the rear of the loaded OTA wagons and will add the same to some of the other freight vehicles. I was going to add corridor connectors to some BR Mk2 coaches but they require couplings changing first and my couplings are, of course, up in the attic and I'd had my fill of going up those steps for today.
  20. Just a few photos I'd like to add. 'Little Owl'. We see this Little Owl regularly in this particular location and it's always nice to get another photo. But you don't have to venture far to get interesting photos as the next two were taking from the back garden, within the 'Worsley Dale' circuit! This Kestrel is frequently seen hovering above the garden, presumably because we have a bird feeder. And I've noticed this Red Kite on 3 occasions now but have yet to get a really decent photo. It always seems to have passed over by the time I get the camera pointed up in the air and all I get is a rear view. An this one isn't really a wildlife photo but I just like it. It was taken in Skipton Castle woods and it's the reflection in a small lake.
  21. Looking really good Andrew. The vegetation around the layout is so lush and makes the perfect backdrop. You've got a wonderful setting for the railway.
  22. Yay! One bond to solder...same here Chris. Not bad considering what they have to go through. Doesn't time fly? Baseboard that's been out in the garden for 12 years!!
  23. Good to see you back up and running and to hear that you've recovered from the Covid. Wiring faults are not unusual at this time of year, seems most of us have been having them but glad you've got it sorted. That ballast train looks very clean! Are you one for weathering or do you prefer keeping things pristine? I know a lot of people don't like the idea of weathering their stock.
  24. I'm pleased to see some of our members' garden layouts have been up and running over the past few days and I'm also pleased to report that Worsley Dale can be counted among them. It's not yet fully up to speed but I'm working on it! I'd actually made plans to run something today and made prior provision by cleaning the track thoroughly in readiness the evening before. It started well this morning as without doing anything further, 26024 made it round the first circuit with the track cleaner and went on to do a few more. I then decided to change direction so that it would clean the inner part of the double track section (with the spring points at each end) but it abruptly came to a halt as soon as it crossed the first points. I discovered a broken soldered joint cutting power to one rail on the inner track. Out with the soldering iron and it was soon back in order. The set of sprung points nearest the shed then started playing up as they wouldn't spring back after a train had run through them. The steel 'spring' wire had lost some tension and had insufficient strength to push the point blades back across. I tapped a track pin into a sleeper forcing the wire over slightly and it's been fine ever since. You just have to ensure that not only is it able to push the blades back across but it also has to be free enough for small wagons to run through the point without them riding up onto the rails. I should really have taken a photo of the modification because I'm sure no-one can understand what the hell I'm going on about! Anyway with everything running fine I went up into the attic for the umpteenth time this morning, this time to bring some 'Worsley Dale' stock down. I didn't manage to bring any additional locos so 26024 was the only one in action today because there was other work for me to do.....later. Here's a few photos of 26024 in action with some freight. So, more work to do was there? Well yes, something I should have been doing a long time ago but it got started and then left. So out with the cement and some remnants of cloth and the remainder of that section of rock face has been covered. I probably need to go back and make the top much less level but I had planned on getting some greenery to fasten to the face of the fence panels and drape over. I'll think about that. On the opposite side of the track(s) will be a much smaller rock outcrop and I've begun adding the chicken wire former ready for plastering tomorrow hopefully. I say track(s) because I'm still undecided about double or single track here. I bought the points a while back to double track it but I'm wondering if it will be worth it or not. I intended 'springing' the points again to save on point motors. I've done nothing further with the IWA log carriers outdoors and they've been returned back to Skew Bridge where they are able to run properly.
  25. Hi Ken and welcome to the forum. You'll discover all kinds of ideas and advice throughout the forum and as you've probably found already, we all seem to go about things in our own particular way. It all comes down to what's best for your particular needs but the absolute priority should be to get everything flat and level. The majority of problems with derailments can be put down to our track laying so it will save you no end of frustrations if you get it right from the outset. A small spirit level is great for ensuring the rails are level across - I wish I'd heeded that advice myself!! As for pins Archie would be spot on with brass but I've always used the standard steel pins because I like the rusted appearance they quickly take on. I've never had a problem with them coming out or working loose. Rust and decay suit a garden railway quite well in my opionion.
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