aussietmrail

Hi Mick, Yeah agree it is very hard to control a train and take either pics or video at the same time, I did try that years back but had a remote control throttle still wasn't easy and did try to operate two trains running opposite to each other on one off the duel controlled layouts with block wiring, that was very hard, couldn't do it. Came across a post about mainline survey's on your old layout being 130 feet, is the new one bigger, WeekenderSteve's layout is huge. Forgot to add on a link on cleaning track where you don't have to bend down , I m going to look into buying one or two to get the extended handles http://www.micromark.com/ho-gauge-track-cleaner,8301.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Tony.

Griff, can now see the difference with spraying the cleaning mats with a yellow tinge, looks more of an Autumn affect now as you can buy Javis grass mat in that colour. Talk about recycling old furniture I have saved the last set of shelving from an entertainment unit my Uncle built me a long time back is now used a shelving in my tool room, going to unscrew the shelving brackets off the walls and use the old module legs from the old layout. It will be easier to get each separate shelf out when the room gets painted, used to be the where the hot water system was, has made a perfect tool room where I store all my electric tools screws and bolts, lock up door too. Tony

Hi Robert, like to know how you posted that pic from your album, I tried to do the same as what Chris said but didn't come with the same in those pics, no idea what I am doing wrong, till then will have to upload the attachment or join where Ian uses to down load his pics. I do have another photo bucket I use to download pics on another forum but doesn't work on this forum. How are you going with your layout construction, being too cold and windy to do any work on my layout. Tony.

Just found another pic from the same photographer I tried pasting form my album didn't work, this pic is a view from tunnel 10, on my version Of TL there will be 6ft radius curve coming of the top of the spiral in stead of having that straight section and then the curve. Tony

Mick, WOW the latest viaduct sure has turned out well with the two double steel arches setting it off, Griff beat me to the comment on the rocks blending in with the railway, how big in size is you layout and the plans past the viaduct, got a few plants to clear first. In your last pic in post 663 is that stone ornament a bird bath, my other hobby is woodturning, haven't done any this year because been busy working on the layout, got ten pens to turn for family and some friends when it starts to warm up, got to keep that skill alive. I could possibility turn that ornament on my lathe except the base as I can only turn 16 inches. When are we going to see a video of your trains running from the new section, be awesome, will have to buy a video camera not a dear one, only got the video in the mobile and digital camera to use. keeping an eye out for the post contractor, the Flying Scotsman parcel should arrive Tuesday a the earliest and the other parcel in the same week., love to see parcels arriving, got some more to come yet, that grass matting and Bachman DD40AX 6900 running number shell for a project display with a Big Boy 87 scale kit. Gee not good with that rain hanging around don't want the same to happen like last summer where a lot of England was flooded, did you get affected at all. Keep the good work up, Tony.

Hi Chris that is some electronics you have put together to measure the grades, what course was it you did, I would love to have that running on my layout to measure the grades as my spiral is 9 inches high and the spiral length is 23feet by a 7ft diameter, each foot it drops down 3/8 inches or every 3 and a half feet it drops down 1&5/16 inches. If you go to my Camdale post to page 3 you will see in the pics how I worked the grade out on the spiral, actually to my surprise it did work out fine, I think the grade works out at 3 percent, someone told me he Tehachapi loop spiral is 2.4 percent, but the real things diameter will work out to be 8foot across, didn't have the room for that, unless I moved the spiral onto the yard more. I like the way you did those profile chart pics, pretty good, pity you didn't do a video of the clinometer in action. Tony.

Griff of course the last one on the radio antenna rings a bell as I have the Ultimate Tehachapi loop DVD, 8 hours of pure magic and there is another radio antenna further down and it is automated gives out weather reports and condition of the line ahead. I know a friend in my train club that went over just to visit the Tehachapi loop a few years back, he only goes on a Saturday as he is in the Australian regular army and yep he does model a military train 40 wagons, American will have dig out the you tube link he took of it on the train club layout, will ask him, he is into the big boys and DD40AX's Athearn. Tony.

Here is the second close up pic as you can see the solar panels much clearer , they could be to do sensors maybe as there is an orange wire cable connected to the track, I will be modelling the scene on my TL module. This work has happen in the last couple of years. Tony...

I have found a good pic of Tehachapi loop of the entrance to tunnel nine Tehachapi loop and yes I GOT PERMISSION FROM THE PHOGOTRAPHER TO POST A COUPLE OF HIS PICS. Got another one I have to yet resize and was hopping to take some pics of my Indian Pacific today but not to be. If you can notice close to the tunnel portal there is a couple of poles with solar panels on them and a closed white box on the ground, does anyone know what they would be used for, or something to do with signals. Tony.

Hi Griff, That is going to be some project are you going to make your own cantenary of buy from that bloke, be hard to set up too as you have to have the cantenary zig sagged like the real thing. Is there any chance of you taking a pic of your finished grass mating with the yellow tinge, many thanks. Did you check the feed back on that Chinese seller, 38 negatives against him in one month 222 in 6 months, don't think I would buy from him with that many negatives, I like to buy from America also but the postage is pretty deal to Australia, like to find a seller where his postage isn't too dear. Tony

Chris do you have to have pics in the photo album for that to work, I use Upload attachment to get into my picture folder. Hi Robert I am about to on eBay buy a roll of that Javis grass matt to finish off the Tehachapi loop tunnel module, been looking on the net on how to model dirt roads, there is a few around the loop, never done this before, something new, have you modelled dirt roads on you other layout. Tony

Hi Ian, That is good that Scarborough SPA Express is still going, here is the link, you may be able to find the pic I have, the birthday pic is the same without the birthday wish. " onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; NSW XPT is based on the British 43 class or intercity 125, could that be the name of the train. That happens a lot over here too with the XPT if it breaks down and the same with QLD rail electric suburban and tilt trains can hooked up to a diesel loco. http://www.auscisionmodels.com.au/XPT%20Page.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. I have the Lima version XPT with the first candy colour scheme with is based on the intercity125 train which is wrong, the XPT locos are shorter than 43 class and the same with the coaches also different design, I was thinking using the locos and buying the proper NSW coaches, because our trains are modelled in HO 1/87 scale is smaller than 00 that idea went out the door. Looks like I will have to get out the second station module and set up the Indian Pacific with the 16 coaches and one auto wagon and the two NR class loco, makes a long train. One time at my train club I was pulling a rake of 10 NSW wheat hoppers with a Santa Fe dash 8 wanted to give that loco a run, got into trouble from another member, came back and said the loco was on loan from America, ha, ha, Tony

Hi Ian, I have got a pic of a Scarborough SPA Express with the Flying Scot pulling a rake of maroon 11 car train, looks pretty good, that will be the size of my FS train and yeah my train club has a length limit of 10ft. You are right you what you like with your own layout, then again you will get modellers that stick to proto type train, had a few members that were like that, look no notice of them . Have the link to the pic if you want to see it. The seller said the FS will arrive next Tuesday, be good if the parcel arrives before I go to the club, takes an hour to get there from my place in Ipswich and the train club is in the northern suburbs, fighting all that traffic. At least the kids will be on school holidays and won't have the school traffic to fight through also, in the afternoon mainly, bloody have restricted speed zones in front of the schools at 40 k's, do you have the same in England. Hopefully the parcel and brake vans will arrive in the same week also coming from England. I like those mark 3 coaches and plan to get at least 8 of them not sure what loco to get to pull them will have to have Intercity colour scheme. Gee 16 feet is a good size, my platforms are 15 feet can fit 16 Indian Pacific passenger cars and nearly two locos, in Perth it has the longest platform in Australia can fit 26 IP passenger cars and two locos, that is what GSR has a consist on peak times between Sydney, Adelaide to Perth, three days of pure magic, a trip I want to go on one day, pretty dear about $1.500 first class per person. The coaches are Lima and are 11 inches long, would love a second set for the Ghan Train, at $69 a pop will have to wait a while, or win the lotto. Tony

Hi Griff, your layout is coming along nicely, those light poles on the platforms what voltage are they as you an buy eigher 6 o 12 volt, I will be getting 12 volt for my platforms will need quite a few, so will looking for a seller that sells 10 or more in a pack. Looking at adding catenary wires too, that will look awesome. I like the idea of those scrubber pads, have too big any area, going ahead with that that Javis grass matting you can buy, found an Aussie seller that sells them in 1200x305 rolls far cheaper than in the hobby shop I go to, you sure have to shop around. Haven't to decide on what colour, going by the pics I have of Tehachapi loop the grass is different colours, thinking of spring mix, buying two rolls will finish the tunnel project and there's the dirt roads also and paint the tunnel portals grey and the track bed ballast grey, might sprinkle some sand first, will need to buy a spray can for that job. http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/m.html?_odkw=&item=121179681694&pt=AU_Toys_Hobbies_Model_Railways&_osacat=0&hash=item1c36df339e&_ssn=i-b-a-mad-loco&_trksid=p2046732.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xjavis+grass&_nkw=javis+grass&_sacat=0&_from=R40 Yet another cold morning, sure slows the progress working on the layout by the end of the week it is dropping down to two degrees over night, can't wait till spring arrives, in August we cop those westerly winds and they drop the temp down a fair bit during the day.

Hi Robert, Yeah I won the special addition Flying Scotsman duel tenders and the train has been posted and on its way, bugger wont come in time for next Tuesday, will have to decide if I or leave it till next Saturday to go to my train club the loco would of arrived by then the seller said Thursday the 8th at the latest. You can go to my post and see the link to the Flying Scot I bought pics to follow. Also bought a Hornby maroon parcels and brake vans, that will give me a rake of 11 maroon cars, got a pic of the Flying Scot pulling a rake of 1 passengers, itching to load it on, this copy right thing is a pain , will have to find the link and add that instead like everyone else doing. Will se if I can get outside and do some work on the spiral today, those cold days sure slows down the progress on the layout, be glad to see Spring arrive what season are you in now summer

Mick all I can say is WOW, you are making me jealous with way you have come along with the building of the viaduct, that middle bridge pier looks fine and not out of place, agree what to everyone is saying move onto the next stage, can get bogged in on one project. What a great idea to have stream with actual running water, be a lot of work but in the end worth it, and the sound of running water, perhaps with those nude figure scenes ha, ha only joking. Griff, have you thought of looking into the cars auto locking motors as they are water proof, IanR recommends them he is using them on his layout, about 2.50 UK pounds $9 over here, you might be able to get it cheaper in America just two wires , IanR has a right up on Outdoor point motors on the forum. In Australia we have the same issue with the hot summers and I will be using those motors on the outside points. Just won on UK eBay a Hornby a special addition duel tender Flying Scotsman and yes the water tender will be powered, looking forward to it arriving, the link is on my post. Tony

On a high my latest purchase from UK eBay a Hornby special addition Flying Scotsman with double tenders and yes the water tender will be powered, will help on the grades on my layout with a long 10 plus passenger cars, be awesome, hopeful sice the postage was pretty dear it is express post and the seller did say 4 days, arrive in time for next Tuesday when I go to my train club, pics to follow. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HORNBY-FLYING-SCOTSMAN-LIMITED-EDITION-PRESENTATION-SET-/271523044935" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;? If you click on the pic with the ended words will bring up more pics. Tony

Ian, On a high last night I won a Hornby special addition Flying Scotsman double tender same as yours from British eBay, postage was the killer 50 pounds haven't got the pound symbol on the lap top ended up costing $283, can't wait and at that price the postage is express, the seller said the box weighs 2 kilos. When the Flying Scot did have that service with the two tenders, do you know how many coaches the train pull, I am looking at buying a maroon brake van and parcel van. Can't wit for the parcel to arrive hopefully arrive by next Tuesday when I go to my train club, will have the eBay link on my post, then I will modify the water tender as a powered tender, WOW. Tony

Hi Robert, Now I understand why you cut the PVC posts, to make it easier to hit into the ground with a sharp edge and having a sandy soil does make a difference, too , that black clay soil is hopeless have really work on it for any plants to grow well, drainage is an issue too. Hopefully I will be the proud owner of another new Flying Scotsman, did well money wise for my birthday which is actually tomorrow, went out for lunch today instead, hope I am the only bidder too as the postage is pretty dear from England to Australia, got cut off limit if it goes of that wont continue bidding, trouble with eBay can sure go down to the wire, prefer buy now. Maybe I should start my pic galley, will get around to it, took long enough to learn how to post pics and edit the post and add smilies, wish there more to chose from. Will see how the weather is tomorrow to get back into my layout construction. Look forward to seeing more pics, keep the good work up, Tony.

Hi Robert, You sure are moving along nicely, wont be long before you are laying track and running your first train, what a great idea what you are going with your PVC piping in such away you can dismantle your layout pretty quickly and set it up again. How did you go with hitting the PVC piping with the sledge hammer would damage to the top of the PVC pipe, does the same with steel piping, your soil mustn't be too hard them, over here in my yard tis that scrub black clay soil gets pretty hard and have to use a pick to dig a hole to plant plants, pretty hopeless when wet also sticks to your shoes. My Flying Scot double tender project is at a stand still, have decided to buy a whole new special addition Flying Scotsman with the double tenders and modify the tender from the flying Scot I have, waiting for the seller to find out if he will post to Australia, fingers crossed as this train is new old stock, if not got an eye on another seller, this one is second hand and has a few marks on he tender. No not at all I love the way you are building your layout. Tony.

Hi Ian, I have decided to buy a whole new special addition Flying Scot like yours and modify the 5 pole motor tender from my FS, gave up on trying to jump lead from one tender to the other, too hard in trying to hide the wires, it did actually work too, my be the wires were getting caught up in the wheels. I am waiting on the seller to get back to me on posting to Australia, fingers crossed. Here area couple of the second 5 pole motor tender, a question do you disconnect the wire plug off the top of the motor and the tender pin. In pic four you will see above the middle wheel the top of the brass wheel pick ups is that where I solder a wire in. How are you going in sorting out fixing your power supply up to the layout. Tony

Mick, Wow the viaduct arches and top deck has turned out well, what's the plan for the garden will you be putting garden bark in, set the grey viaduct off nicely. Gee that is a good price for the actual viaduct couldn't do it for that price over here as the bricks close enough to yours cost $9 each, I am itching for a viaduct on my layout but that will have to wait a while. looks like I will be buying a new special addition Flying Scotsman with the double tenders an use the tender from my Flying Scotsman I have now which is 5 pole motor and has the brass strip wheel pic-ups an going to renumber the FS I have now as you can buy running number decal kits, two British steamies. So my double tender project is on the back burner till I get the new FS, hope the seller reply's as to find out if he will post to Australia, cutting it fine, back to the layout building Monday. Can't wait to see train running soon, pure awesome. Tony

Hi Roy Have you heard some modellers use that volcanic pebble stone and crush it up for ballast, a friend of mine did his whole layout with it, quite plentiful in Bundaberg where he lives, so cost him non-think for the ballast, he said was easy to crush up with a hammer rapped in a cloth. I'm not going to bother with ballast as my layout isn't permanently set up, why its taking so long to build, hope to do some work tomorrow on the layout depends on the weather its raining at the moment, should use that roof sheeting the guys use in England and America, haven't seen it in Bunning, is it called something else over here. Winter has been kind to us up here too, only had a couple of really cold morning, days are nice be good if it could that all year round. Good to hear the Blues broke the 8 year drought in the State of Origin , QLD can't expect to win every game, Channel 9 was pushing for that, all you heard on TV before the game, I don't follow the game too much punch ups on the field. http://www.hornbyguide.com/class_details.asp?classid=89" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; Is this that train you are talking about, very nice, bean expensive item over here to buy the full set, nearly $500. Tony

Hi Ian, I decided to take a couple of pics of the second FS power tender. I liked to how Hornby did with no brass feeder wheel strips, my other 5 pole tender does have those brass wheel strips.

Hi Ian, Just a big set back, can't solder those wires as there are no brass feeder strips to the wheels, this tender must be pretty old then to my shock actually has one of the brown things soldered on it, the other one will have one too then, so now I will have to decide what to do next is buy a 5 pole motor replacement or a complete replacement tender that has the motor .Then I will have to ask the seller if the motor is a 3 or 5 pole, need a third tender shell to cut up the door access. The only other option is run wires from the other tender to this one till I replace it to get both working, hiding the wires be an issue too, will be able to do some think Sunday night, which way to go, be nice if I could buy the Flying Scotsman with the water tender. That FS with the blue water tender had its own special blue coaches to go with it, found out Lilliput and Trix bought Flying Scot with the water tender, different stripping on the tenders yet again, they can't make up their mind. Tony