ROY'S DRIVEL

[cleanerg6e]

Around and mum's unit in the retirement village where mum lives and in her small garden some earth has been scraped out from under a piece of timber for a lizard to "live". Well on my way out from mum's I saw the lizard and as luck would have it I had my still camera on me so I took a photo. He/She is in a flattened or squashed state and has come out into the sunshine to warm up.

This is a Blue Tongue Lizard and it keeps all the snails and slugs to a minimum.

[traingeekboy]

How big do those get?

[cleanerg6e]

That is almost full size for that species Griff. They are quite slow moving in the flattened state which is why they like to sit in part shade and use the atmospheric temperature to warm up. Being cold blooded once they "heat" up they swell and can easily move quite fast. They will never attack you unless you corner them or if you attack them with say a stick. Most of our wildlife is pretty easy going it's only when people do stupid things like not looking where they put their feet when bush walking and tread on a coiled snake which will turn round and bite them. You have to look at it from the snakes perspective and if I was coiled up on the ground and some human trod on me I'd bite them.

Roy.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Roy, we have a family blue Tungue too, here is a couple of pics of him having a feed on a snail and in under the golden cane, will be seeing a lot more of him when the October lilies come into flower as the snails love them, he can move very fast as you say.

Took the pics with my new iphone6 mobile phone camera, takes awesome video too, my son is going to change the itune format so I can upload to you tube, or can you load on itune format to the forum.

Tony

[cleanerg6e]

Tony I have an old workmate I used to work on the railways with who lives at Mudjimba on the sunshine coast and he has a blue tongue in his garden. Whilst I was visiting him 2 years ago he was having a bad time with the birds as they were trying to kill the lizard. His wife (a very keen gardener) has put in a lovely garden which she no doubt forbids him to weed as last time she asked him to weed a garden bed he pulled everything out and she had a patch of bare earth. He said to me in his thick Yorkshire accent "oh good son (he rarely ever called me Roy) we can go fishing in the morning" to which I replied " and in the afternoon we can go train watching". His reply was "like heck I will" so we did neither and just sat around drinking beer.

He was the bloke who when he saw a small shunter in the main running shed at the loco depot where we worked remarked "ooo it's a little ditty isn't it" We aussies cracked up laughing and when he and I returned to the washing shed I said to him that he must have gotten that phrase from his wife. He said "how to you figure that son" "well" I said "on the first time dropped your pants in front of her she said oooo it's a little ditty isn't it!" He replied "you cheeky bastard I'll get you!!!!!!" and started chasing me round the washing shed. He never caught me.

Son (Roy)

[aussietmrail]

Hi Ron, how are you going after that super storm hit the Blue Mountains, heard a late winter wonder land too, did you lose power at all,, wonder how Jon is going, Sydney copped it bad also, we copped storms too, as a big front, not as you guys, could of done with the rain though.

Did notice the Blue Tongue at your mums home is a different colour to ours.

Ha, Ha I like what you said to your mate and when he chassed you around the garden shed, had to laugh.

How your layout coming along, I have just about finished the second module that sides into the Tehachapi loop tunnel 9 module, had to buy some more plaster today at Bunning, all I have to do now is finish off the scenery with touching up with those weed plants and small shrubs to tidy up along the side of the dirt road, then I can move on to the finish the rest of the spiral, pics on my post.

A work mate used to call me son also.

Tony.

[cleanerg6e]

aussietmrail said:

Hi Ron, how are you going after that super storm hit the Blue Mountains, heard a late winter wonder land too, did you lose power at all,, wonder how Jon is going, Sydney copped it bad also, we copped storms too, as a big front, not as you guys, could of done with the rain though.

Did notice the Blue Tongue at your mums home is a different colour to ours.

Ha, Ha I like what you said to your mate and when he chassed you around the garden shed, had to laugh.

How your layout coming along, I have just about finished the second module that sides into the Tehachapi loop tunnel 9 module, had to buy some more plaster today at Bunning, all I have to do now is finish off the scenery with touching up with those weed plants and small shrubs to tidy up along the side of the dirt road, then I can move on to the finish the rest of the spiral, pics on my post.

A work mate used to call me son also.

Yes it PI**ed it down but we missed the cyclonic winds. There was 30cm of snow in the upper mountains but we don't get snow here and never have as we're too low down.

My former workmate chased me around the WASHING SHED not garden shed. Here's a video taken of Lithgow loco. The WASHING SHED is the long narrow building near the turntable. It's 50m in length about 12m in height so it's a bit big to be a garden shed. In case you might be thinking that is would be a great place for a model railway well no it wouldn't unless you like to have your model soaked in water,alkaline and acid detergents not to mention loads of diesel fumes, diesel oil, coolant and clouds of dust from the insides of electric locos and diesel generator rooms.

I'm making tunnels at the moment on the railway.

 

Roy.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Roy, typing error on your name too Ron meant to be Roy, good you missed the heavy stuff was pretty bad on the news last night and all we got was 10mm out the storms, need heaps more as I have to water the plants now, going to be a long hot summer, plan to shift some azalea plants I planted out in the garden, closer in where they can get the afternoon shade from the western sun.

Did you lose any power, the power grid works funny up here as we can lose power where there is a storm affecting another suburb miles away and no storms around us, the neighbours should be thankful because we are on the special need list with Energex to get the power connoted much quicker as my son is disabled and on 24/7ventilators. Even though he has battery back-up, they have to charged, we have been lucky so far only losing power for a few hours.

My Tehachapi loop tunnel 9 is just about finished, only planning to have two tunnels on my layout, looking forward to seeing those pics of your tunnels, what do you call the concrete tunnel entrances.

Thanks for that link on Lithgow's rail maintenance depot ,is it till operating and what class electric locos are NSW Rail running now, year did see the washing shed, great scene to model, would liked to of seen the fuel and racks a is what I will be modelling on the layout some and a turn table too, need it to turn 3801 around when at Sydney Central , I will be modelling, it's a Heljan TT.

Tony.

[cleanerg6e]

We did have a really strong wind storm here the other day but the railway came through with no damage, thank heavens.

I've done some more ballasting and will soon be putting in the first of three tunnels, wind and afternoon storms permitting. That's quite common at this time of year despite what the weather people on telly say. They seem to forget from one year to the next.

Odd isn't it that in the winter when it's cold we have climate change and in the summer when it's hot we have global warming.

We were told that this summer would be very very hot due to an El Ninyo forming off South America. Only recently they said that the El Ninyo wasn't going to be that strong after all and that we can expect rain this summer.

They've said that for the last 6 years, Ohhhh all doom and gloom for summer, drought conditions and then it rains cats and dogs and they're going on about how monthly totals for rainfall have been exceeded. They haven't got a clue what the weather will do.

Long range weather forecast...... with a foggy crystal ball. Being a meteorologist would have to be the best job going because if you get it right people think you're great, and if you get it wrong you can blame anything for the cock up and no one can prove you wrong. You just use loads and loads of technical terms.

Roy.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Roy, how did you go with those bush fires, hope you weren't affected, was pretty bad up here with grass fires and the smoke affects my asthma if it is pretty bad, have to turn the air-con the other way when there is a smoke around.

Much cooler today, working on another project want it out the way and back on the layout, fingers crossed it stays in the mid to high 20's for a while.

[cleanerg6e]

Well it's a little smoky here this morning after the fire at Warrimoo/Blaxland. My brother and his wife tried to get home and were stopped by the police even though their home is not where the fire was burning. The police officer told my sister in-law " I don't give a stuff where you live you're not going any further". When my sister in-law lowered her sun glasses he recognised her as the local state member he then let her through. I wonder how many others were not so lucky. If it had been me I would have said "stuff you mate" and driven on no matter what he may have tried to do. The trouble is that when they prevent homeowners from getting to their homes or they insist that they leave the area it leaves the streets vacant and the houses ripe for burglars which unfortunately happens as these low life's will take advantage of any situation. In the past many a homeowner has been allowed to return to their homes thinking that they have escaped the fire only to find the house cleared out by looters. The authorities still wonder why so many are reluctant to leave.

Also the worlds leading idiots have arrived in Brizzy for the G20. Putin arrived last night and Russian warships are in the coral sea heading for Australia and no doubt U.S warships are heading for the Russian warships as are also Australian warships which are heading to "monitor" the Russian warships. The British PM addressed our parliament and said that the British people have a strong attachment to the Australian people. I don't know if this is true. He was probably being diplomatic. Our PM Abbott took the PM Cameron on a walk around circular quay in Sydney and told him that when the "whites" arrived there was nothing accept bush where they were standing. In saying that he once again put his foot in it as there were loads of aborigines living there and had been for over 60,000 years!.

Roy.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Roy,

That was handy, is your sister-in-laws initials RS checked up what sate seat was in the Blue Mountains.

Quite a few years back the road blocked just before the street that leads into our street and we were on another street, I asked the police woman if we could go, what made it easy was we had at the time was we had a disabled van and my son was in a electric wheel chair and couldn't keep the motor running for the AC, she let us go.

Yeah a lot of people picked up on what Abbot said, just read in the paper Putin is going home early been getting the cold shoulder and talk of more sanctions put on him, the only problem is the world can't push him into a corner as he is ex KGV and had links to the old Russia.

Watching yesterday shooting hid mouth off , going on that co media care payment and other budget measurements, nothing to do with the G20, Obama had a go at him yesterday in his speech about climate changes to get into the act, cricket is on today, yesterday was enough crap.

The media only showed what they were told to show and with no one else being in the Brisbane as a normal day it would of been different matter, Sydney didn't have a public holiday when they held the G20 was on when Howard was PM.

Was a lot of smoke around yesterday, not so far today, bloody hot35 degrees already, may go higher than 43 degrees, hope the outside weather station transmitter can cope with the direct hot sun, may cook, haven't had a chance to move it in under the pergola, next week I will.

great time to be working on hobby projects where I can work on the dining room table in the nice cool lounge room

Keep cool , Tony

[cleanerg6e]

Yes Tony one year we had the bad luck of having the American Vice President here and they completely cleared the Sydney Harbour Bridge of all road traffic so he could go for a drive across it. They somehow seem to think that he's important and worth protecting. Even the U.S president travels in his own armoured Cadillac when abroad. Local government cars aren't good enough for him. For f**ks sake he's only a politician.

Roy.

[cleanerg6e]

Well after the stinking hot day yesterday 43 degrees, today was a little cooler but very humid. It rained at 3pm. Well rain is not quite the right word. It was as if someone up there turned on the tap and then went off and had a cuppa. Holy cow did it come down. But I don't like daytime rain in the summertime because afterwards out comes the sun and it's as humid as hell.

Mum now has the freedom of the rehab unit meaning that she doesn't need to have a staff member to escort her to the toilet or to physio. She's still moaning about this and that so that side of her hasn't changed. They want to make sure she can cope before allowing her to return to her unit. They want her to stay in her unit for as long as possible as a nursing home means lying in bed most of the day staring at the ceiling waiting for people to bring you a cup of tea. There are some things in her unit that will have to go, like the portable heated towel rail that's over 30 yrs old and rather wobbly.

Roy.

[cleanerg6e]

I ran out of Peco metal fish plates so a trip to the local model shop was in order. I also bought some Hornby close couplings for coaches code R 8220 which come 10 to a pack which is ok unlike their metal wheels which also come 10 to a pack meaning you can only do two and a half coaches per pack. I bought some K&S rod which in the size I wanted is a three pack when I only wanted one. I also bought some Tamiya paint stirrers. Having a look round the shop which is a veritable Aladdins cave who should also be in there shop?, my brother. I thought he was in Queensland on holidays.

I was also after a couple of Dapol (old airfix) station canopies but they didn't have any. I also wanted a Bachmann 108 two car DMU in green with speed whiskers but they only had ones with small yellow warning panels. If I can I like to shop at this model shop due to trying to keep the local model shop alive. Many others in there feel the same and they do a roaring trade.

The shop is no where near the size of Hattons or Gauge Master which remind me of a modellers supermarket but one can buy and have a chat to the staff which provide people with free coffee or tea.

I noted that in one of the loco display cases was a D11 4-4-0 No. 62690 "Lady of the Lake" which made me smile and think of Monty Python's movie The Holy Grail. For those who don't know the movie you have King Arthur telling the peasants how he is King. "The lady of the lake dus give me a sword called Excalibur" etc. The peasant replies " Listen mate strange woman lurking in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government". "The power to rule comes from a mandate of the people, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony". "I mean you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you". The whole time the king is telling him to shut up and eventually grabs him whereupon he says "Arrh now we see the violence inherent in the system, Help Help I'm being repressed. The king throws him onto the ground and says, "Bloody Peasants!!"

Roy.

[cleanerg6e]

Poor mum is now almost immobile and hopes to have a new hip joint operation next week. This is to replace the hip joint that was "installed" ( for want of a better word) 44 years ago. In those days one could only have the op in Queensland and mum was one of the first to have it. I can remember mum always did the exercises that she was given to do in the hospital so that around 20 years after having the op she returned to Brisbane to see the surgeon for a check up. Unfortunately she had sprained her ankle a few days before so the surgeon spent most of the consultation time concerning himself with mum's ankle. I do remember her saying that after lying on the bed/couch that the surgeon asked mum to raise her leg. So she did and almost kicked the surgeon in the face. He hadn't expected mum do to the exercises once she left hospital. Yes I can still remember the rhythm of mums slippers on the bathroom floor all those years ago as she did her hip exercises. She told me recently that she'd stopped doing them due to feeling too unsteady on her feet.

She was also told by the authorities here that I should have a disabled permit in my car for her. But being one of the old school she told them, 'I can still walk even if I have to use a walker. But I can walk so you can bend over and put your permit where the sun don't shine'. 'I am NOT disabled'.

On disabled permit use in NSW. If you have a disabled relative in the car and you park in a disabled parking spot and they don't get out of the car you're not entitled to park there. The same if you are on your own just because you have a permit attached to the windscreen doesn't mean you're entitled to use a disabled park spot, but many do.

Many people in our area have the permits and they aren't disabled....just seniors. A truly disabled person can't push a full supermarket shopping trolley around a shopping mall. Many of these so-called disabled seniors walk just as well as younger people.

It all started when a former Olympian asked for a disabled parking space to be put outside the front of her inner city unit so that she could park her large 4x4 with ease. That then opened the flood gates so that now people with an unsteady heartbeat to a permanently sore big left toe can have a disabled parking permit.

There is only one lady where I live who I think is entitled to the permit. She's in a wheelchair with hand controls on her Ford Focus. The wheelchair is hoisted up in the folded position and sits on the roof when she's driving.

There's also a young lad who's a paraplegic and has a VW Van where he wheels himself in the back in his electric wheelchair to the driving position in the front.

They are truly disabled but I prefer to call them less able. If you disable something you make it totally useless but disabled people are not totally useless.

Rant over........Roy.

[cleanerg6e]

Well mum has had her hip operation but is finding it difficult to walk. She thinks the doctor "stuffed up" but I think that her muscles got so used to the last joint slowly deteriorating that now that new hip joint is in it's put things back in their proper place in one fowl swoop.

I'm annoyed with the doctor for having her wait so long for this replacement. He should have done it 2 years ago rather than now when she's almost a cripple and half a step from a permanent wheelchair.

I was supposed to be taking holidays this year but one of our "workers" has been diagnosed with Pancreatic, Liver and Prostate cancer and he's going to have 8 months off. When his sick leave (the 8 months) runs out he'll take his accumulated long service leave and holiday leave which should see another 12+ months.

We've asked for another person to be employed but have been told there's no money. Yet for the head office staff (known as the castle) they advertise for a manager, an assistant manager and an assistant for the assistant manager. So an deputy chief assistant for the assistant deputy chief. All on between $1,500-$2,500 per week.

Yesterday afternoon we had one hell of a thunderstorm which included large hailstones. Yes my work vehicle now has dents in the bodywork. One of my toilets has a clear plastic roof section which is a skylight. It looks like Swiss cheese with all the holes in it. It can't be repaired today because today is union picnic day and the council only has a skeleton staff on. I'm one of them ( the ribs actually).

Tomorrow this toilet will be a focal point for a town festival and at the present time is closed due to the fact that it's raining and if one is to sit on the "bog" one would need an umbrella to shield one from the "plops" of water from above.

Does the council have any spare plastic sheets to repair the roof......no it hasn't. Simple no money to buy any only to employ office staff.

[cleanerg6e]

I've been having a look on the net at a company here that an old friend of dad's suggested I take a look at. They're are called Gadsby Surface Solutions and supply "wet pour rubber". It's similar to what Trevor Jones has as the basis for his garden railway.

This lot say it will last 10 years with virtually no maintenance. However that's with it being walked, jumped on etc on as this stuff is designed for play areas.

They have two types of rubber, shredded and granulated. I think that granulated would be the best type for a garden railway track bed.

http://www.softfall.com.au

Does this mean that I'm once again considering a garden railway?....maybe, but it won't be as big as last time although my boss at work said "why not have one running around the circumference of your block. That would be a run of 141m. Yes I could do that as long as he buys all the extra track, wiring and makes the removable bridge across the driveway. I wouldn't require 141m in track but around 580m of track because I'd have four running lines, 2 passenger and 2 freight so that I wouldn't have to worry about trains having rear end collisions.

But no, many people over here had plenty of ideas on "what I should do" but when it came to the time that I asked them to help me implement them they shied away. So perhaps they were "pie in the sky" ideas.

I've learnt my lesson from last time with only one bloke coming around once as he had a DCC equipped loco. The bigger a railway is the more there is to maintain.

Also this time IF I have another railway it will be ground level in garden beds quite close to the ground so that once I can't get down to it anymore I can cover the track bed with garden mulch and until someone digs there no one will know it's there.

Roy

[mick]

cleanerg6e said:

...Does this mean that I'm once again considering a garden railway?....maybe, but it won't be as big as last time....

I hope you decide to give it another go Roy and if you do then I'd suggest a smaller version would be a much better idea. I know there are some outdoor layouts that prove that big can be good (I'm thinking of Trevor's Great Wakering....) but for the majority of us we have to be more realistic. I personally wouldn't want to have to spend several hours cleaning tracks before an operating session which is why I have kept my layout plans to a bare minimum. I'm okay with a 15 minute cleaning schedule. I would even consider just having two tracks (and that's 50% more than I'm planning with mine) rather than the four.

I think the 'wet pour' rubber you mention is likely to be the epoxy based stuff I was reading about which is a popular surface for play areas. It looks to be the way to go.

[cleanerg6e]

Yes Mick, this "wet pour" rubber certainly looks most interesting. In one of the early Model Rail magazines Trevor had a photo of the ingredients of his "screed", cement mixed with cork and rubber chips all held together with his SBR binder.

It looked like one had to get the proportions absolutely perfect otherwise it wouldn't work.

This "wet pour" rubber does away with cement as it's held in place with a binder.

It can be laid on bare earth but they recommend a 50mm base of road base (gravel) compacted and then the "Softrax" rubber poured on top.

Mine would need to be around 3cm in depth as the track pins I would use are 2.5cm in length and are nickel plated brass.

Although this rubber comes pre-coloured in loud colours one of the colours is a light grey. It's all been U.V tested so as not to fade or breakdown in the heat.

As you may have gathered I've had my fill of wood and timber generally. It has it's uses to be sure but high level garden railway boards is not one of them.

I'm now after a material that is (as near as damn it) zero maintenance. In other words I install it and that the last time I need to touch it. This Softfall/Softrax wet pour rubber may fit the bill.

Roy.