Rossi Railways in the sun

[ba14eagle]

Im with Mick - the Bachmann offering is the best looking of the modern offerings. I cant say 100% its the best runner, as the one I have has always had a slightly dodgy chassis (it should have gone back to the shop really ) but with care, its a good performer.

A very much cheaper alternative is the Lima offering of the 1980/90's. Not a bad looking loco and reasonable Lima performance. Available in hundreds of different numbers, varients and liveries, you should be able to pick one up for £20 - £30.

[Rossi]

Mrs Rossi's sister just arrived over here for a week or so...and bearing gifts!

Took the plunge and ordered the Backmann 37.

First photo shoot with it today.

Amazed at the actual weight of the engine. And, compared with the early Lima/Hornby 37's I've got, an absolute dream.
Smooth running, no problems with the gradients and perfect running over all tracks from the off.

I'm now convinced that the way ahead is with new locos. The time spent on old stock really isn't worth the effort. I accept that some of my seventies/eighties engines will pass as average but compared with the Bachmann gear there really is no comparison.

Not sure if any of you have heard any of the news about the devastation of the forest fires on the Islands over the last few weeks, but the railway needs a complete dusting and possible repaint due to the overspill of smoke and ash from the mountains and the sand storm from the Sahara a couple of days ago. Nothing of course, compared to the losses suffered from a lot of the damage done to Island homes.
Without the winter rain this year, the forests were like tinder boxes. Neighbouring Island La Gomera (my favourite) has lost eleven % of its vegetation. So sad.

One of the numerous water carriers to work on a non stop procession to the forest fires. Water was gathered up from a nearby sea inlet and then flown up to the mountains.

[mick]

That 37 looks awesome - are you sure it's only OO gauge! When I saw the thumnbnail pictures on the home page I thought they were photos of an actual prototype. That really does look stunning. I don't think I have that one....

There's just something about modern diesel loco models. They run so smoothly as if the suspension is actually working and they will haul just about anything. When I put a steam loco on track there's a sense of disappointment. Not only is the sound inferior to the diesels but the running and haulage is too. I'm just getting this thing for diesels at the moment and looking at your photos there's little wonder - it's a beauty.

[Rossi]

Another friend arriving this Friday armed with Railway mags and...a roll of Peco track underlay. Mmmm...

I know it is against the grain to try and use this out of doors, but it got me to thinking. What if...

I laid it and then sprayed it with a varnish /also thought of hair spray, then painted it. Would it stand the test of all this sun?

Might just do a couple of yards as an experiment.

Plus, earlier maintenance on the girder bridge and track seems to have failed (see earlier pixs)and it's looking like a new rebuild around that area.

Don't know where we find the time to socialise!!!

[traingeekboy]

That's a cool plane shot you posted. how are the fires doing?

Nice loco you have there. What time period is that paint job from?

I have to agree on the new locos. Their performance: smooth, powerful, quiet; is impressive. But I still suffer from sticker shock.

[ba14eagle]

Griff, the "metals sector" paint scheme the 37 is wearing, was unveiled in October 1987 and remained until EWS took over the larger part of British Rail freight operations in 1996. There were 5 freight sectors, all sharing the 2 - tone grey base colours, but with different insignia - Metals - blue & yellow sharp zig-zags, Petroleum - blue & yellow wavy lines, Construction - blue & yellow squares, Coal - black & yellow diamonds and finally, General or Distribution - yellow & red rectangles. Many of the old BR locos that were painted in these "sector" colour schemes, retained them until withdrawal - ousted by the General Motors class 66's.

[traingeekboy]

So were 37's used on both passenger and freight in the early days and then moved to freight hauling later on as newer better arrived for pulling coaches?

[ba14eagle]

Griff

Class 37' were always a "mixed traffic" type from the outset. However, passenger work pretty much tailed off with the introduction of electric trains in the east of England, during the mid to late 1980's and with the introduction of "sprinter" diesel units into Scotland in the late 1980's / early 1990's. A few, select routes, enjoyed occasional class 37 haulage into the new millenium. Alas, now just a memory

[Rossi]

The fascination of railways!!!

Had a BBQ the other day. Plenty of grub and wine and friends..but here is a picture of someone who was only interested in the railway. He was happy to play all day once he'd unearthed the controls. Wonderful.

Quite happy with the station masters hat as well. This second picture taken as dusk descended, and still going strong!

Pretty sure at this time he was working on a timetable.

[Rossi]

Last few weeks have been hectic with relatives and friends but yesterday got down to some serious maintenance work.

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd received some track underlay. To use it or not?

Well, I found a couple of lengths of new track and decided to uproot some troublesome part of the railway. The sleepers were flaking away and although there was no derailments happening, it was only a question of time.

Had to chisel away at the decking to shift the old ballast which had been in place for nigh on two years I think.
Then in with the new, plus the Peco underlay. Varnished the base left it overnight with stones holding it all in place.

Not sure whether this is a good idea or not, but I've now sprayed it all with hair lacquer and I'm thinking of giving it a coat of clear varnish.

Got the radio on whilst I'm typing this...We've now gone ten months without rain (apart from maybe the odd rogue cloud spilling a few drops on its way to Manchester!)...and the forecast has just mentioned a hurricane crossing the Atlantic and possibly hitting the south of the Island (yellow alerts being issued).
You always know there bad when they give them a name. This one is called "Nadine."
So, it looks like my handiwork is going to get a real christening. 
I suspect foam underlay and water is not a good mix!
PS. gave it all a test run this morning. It runs like a dream.

[jimbob]

I think you'll find that it doesn't hold water that well so dry's out quickly. The down side being that it fades and goes brittle in the sun after a while.

p.s. It's hammering it down here in SW London, but the it's the first rain I've had for over a month so can't complain. Well I could but no one would listen!

[traingeekboy]

Good to see you back at it. It seems like everyone has to do repairs after a year or two. There's just no way to predict how the elements will affect the layout. Not so sure about foam outdoors, but we'll see what happens in the next few months.

Your climate is so dry, what about plain old cork roadbed?

Good luck with Nadine!

[mick]

I know it's often troublesome and inconvenient but maintenance and even rebuilding are part and parcel of an outdoor line. It's the little world you've created and it needs looking after!

I'm not sure how the foam underlay will react to the elements, perhaps the sun will be more detrimental than any rain you might have, but it certainly looks the part. Being partly enclosed, you might find that the foam actually helps protect the sleepers a bit?

We're going through a(nother) nasty spell of wet and windy weather in the UK at the moment and this is also attributed to the remnants of 'Nadine'.

From the earlier photos which I have only just seen, it looks like you've got yourself a willing volunteer and if the cap fits....

[Rossi]

I've mentioned on earlier pages the initial encounters with the new class 47. I put it down to trackwork causing the derails and bit by bit overcame the problem. A couple of days ago the mishaps returned with this particular loco.

Eventually I did some concerted slow running over various troublesome areas, and then I found it.

At both ends of the 47 are small moulded bits of plastic which replicate metal guards to remove any obstacles on the track (real life)...I think.

I found that these were slightly too low and were lifting the loco (ever so slightly) at strategic places on the layout. Especially points.

This may have been down to some rough handling of the loco on BBQ night (see page 9) when apprentice operators were left to their own devices!

I decided to trim a small bit off each, and I think only rivet counters would see much difference. Anyway, it's completely solved the problem with the engine moving backwards and forwards at speed through all junctions.
Following shot after trimming.

Mention of Hurricane Nadine (other posts) proved groundless as it has missed the Island. What do we have to do for some rain? Maybe a few remnants later today. And still no hosepipe ban!

[george356]

 

Quote

What do we have to do for some rain?

How many bucketfuls do you want?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-tyne-19710257

[Rossi]

Touche George.

Just been listening to some of the forecasts back in Britain. It really is horrendous. Flood alerts in lots of counties.

No wonder you're a bit cheesed off with my moaning. Could do a fifty/fifty swap for a week or two!

[traingeekboy]

Funny how the passion for extreme detail can ruin a perfectly good engine.

We've gotten some rain finally. It's quite pleasant. *gloat gloat*

[Rossi]

Done a bit of work on the troublesome J39 loco. Changed tender wheels and added some weight so it doesn't bounce across points. Still not brilliant but does manage to shunt the station and sidings which is a big plus.

Below, shunting empty stock into platforms...successfully.

On reflection I think it may need a re-cast coupling between engine and tender as I'm beginning to think that this might be pulling/pushing each other incorrectly (on bends).

This shot taken from low level station from the cab/tender of the J39. Fireman observing high level class 25. Not sure how safely it will get back to the main terminal as it doesn't like negotiating the bend in the back tunnel with the gradient!

[doublecee]

That bolsover wagon reminds me of my very first train set as a 4 year old...

[traingeekboy]

Yo Rossi!,

I have a question for you. I was discussing layout building on Sykarost's thread and the issue of sunlight came to mind. You probably get more sun than anyone here; how does the sun effect the plastics? I'm thinking of things like structures and sleepers.

I figured I'd poke around and see if all your structures are painted or not and stumbled across some pictures I had to comment on.

The shots of your guest playing trains. It seems you've made a new convert out of him. he he he played with am all evening huh? Yep, you got him hook line and sinker.

And this shot here:

http://www.oogardenrailway.co.uk/download/file.php?id=728" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

First time I saw it, I didn't notice how nice the rails looked snaking off into the distance. Pretty cool.