Rossi Railways in the sun

[Rossi]

Hi Tony,

A few answers to your questions. First the easy ones.

Our climate is classed in holiday brochures as "Eternal Spring" whatever that means. Mostly dry and sunny (upper 70's, with our bit of rain, which comes in tropical downpours in the winter months) Maybe three weeks all told. Wind obviously with the adverse weather. And yes it can be pretty blowy!!!

The grass matting I use is from the garden centre. It is vastly overscale, but can give a pleasant finish to parts of the railway.

Now onto the magazine railway. They do have a web site on http://www.modelrailwayvillage.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.

Friends brought over the first 16 issues and I'm led to believe are still ordering them in the UK. As mentioned before, true friends indeed, as we struggle to have any railway gear over here.

Now...be careful with the "discounted steam engine."

Dont think it comes with a magazine issue as I remember reading something about collecting vouchers "to ensure your full discount."

Apparently they reckon the tank engine (Bachmann) is worth 174 pounds (English), but if you collect all vouchers in certain mags (6 to 20 I think) it will come to you at the discount price of 68 pounds...thus, a 60% saving.

Now I really dont want to get in any mud slinging or defamatory remarks but I am pretty sure you can order that type of loco from one of the well known mail order firms for about 60 pounds. (No coupons needed!)

But I suppose the product (Model railway village,) obviously has to make a profit.

Plus I am enjoying the various bits and pieces in the mags which will be in place on Rossi Railways in the Sun.

Level crossing and foliage plus the little wagon.
The track is no good out of doors.

Signals and platforms also arrived...so well pleased.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Rossie,

A few more questions , if you have a mild summer what is your winter like then, you mustn't have any issues with the wind then when running your trains , one bloke told me he switched to O scale garden railway because of that problem. I didn't have an issue when I used to run my trains on my module layout which was under the pergola.

What colour is those model railway village coaches maroon, I am after a diner coach and break van to match.

Not going to bother with the tank steamy got my heart set on buying a Hornby or Bachmann 50 class diesel loco for my inter city coaches they are blue with gray roof.

Finished the spiral yesterday ready to lay down the track and bus wiring, will leave that till I finish the top track that heads into tunnel 10, got the ply already cut up, need the cut the support legs.

I decided to do redraw my station plan double the size where you can see the platforms a lot better. If you do a search on Google Earth you see how big Sydney Central really is, I have a model of the Indian Pacific with 16 coaches and two of the NR locos that pulls the train one NR has the Indian Pacific logo on the side of it.

Talk about profit, in Aussie dollar by the time you have finished buying all those 120 kits and other stuff, about $3.500 one friend told me ouch a bit hard to believe that price, I am only going to buy a few kits.

That signal bridge does the signals actually work, I build my own signals, haven't tackled three way signals as yet.

Keep the great pics flowing, do you have any video of your trains running be pure awesome when the trains come into your station platforms the way you have the track and points.

[traingeekboy]

Dude, you should post that on your layout discussion.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Rossi,

Went through all your posts and did come across some you tube on your layout, pure awesome on what I saw.

It will be a while before trains are running on my layout. doing all the work myself with out any help, I will get there in the end and fill good when the first train runs around the whole layout without any issues.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Rossi,

I just bought a Hornby 12 wheel 68ft restaurant car, maroon colour, going to look good when I finely get those 6 maroon coaches from my news agents, will be also after a brake or guards van, may end up with 10 all up and on the con for a British 60 class diesel loco from Hornby, heaps of very good detail on the loco, looks like I can't get one in British rail blue colour scheme.

The 60 class loco can also pull the blue and gray inter city coachers, looking at a later date get those longer inter city saloon coachers and the locos to match, the Flying Scott probably wont be able to pull all the maroon coaches together, unless I get the Hornby one with the motor in the boiler, mine has the motor in the tender.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/P349-Hornby-R4131A-BR-68ft-Dining-Car-M230M-OO-Gauge-/331200625938?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item4d1d187d12" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/HORNBY-Loco-R3150-DB-Schenker-Co-Co-Diesel-Electric-Class-60-/380862345318?pt=UK_Trains_Railway_Models&hash=item58ad2a3066" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Rossi]

Bit of cloud cover today, so decided to make a lifting section for the top end of the layout.

This is section one. Hides the turn round and spare siding loops.

Next part..see if it fits, especially around those dreaded Bougainvillaea trees!

Perfect. Girder bridge will be replaced and some type of retaining wall added. Not sure yet.

To the right you can see lifting section number 2, complete with over-scale garden centre grass mat.
This will be the next project.

[mick]

 

Rossi said:

....To the right you can see lifting section number 2, complete with over-scale garden centre grass mat.

This will be the next project.

Doesn't look too over-scale to me - it could be a field full of crops.

Nice work on the lift out sections and well done for negotiating your way round those Bougainvillaea uprights!

[chris]

Great to see you going down the lift out route. I've found it a very satisfying way of adding scenic areas to outdoor railways.

Looks splendid.

[Rossi]

Hi Chris,

I've always used a bit of portable stuff because of access to track cleaning etc, but some of the boards have been cumbersome so I've now started on lighter pieces. (The tropical storms in the winter months will need them to be removed).

Today we received a package from the UK.

As promised by some friends they were true to their word. Another box full of that "Village railway" gear.

[traingeekboy]

Holy crap that's a nice box of goodies! You're going to have to give us an inventory list of all of it.

I'd say that new lift out is some really nice scenery work. Yes, it's minimal due to being out of doors, but it's very convincing. As Mick mentioned the taller fake grass matting has the effect of crops. I've seen people here use it for corn fields.

[traingeekboy]

I have a set of those as well. They magically appeared on my doorstep one day.

I expect Rossi will be silent until he can bombard us with more photos.

[grockle]

 

traingeekboy said:

I have a set of those as well. They magically appeared on my doorstep one day.

wonder were they came from Griff

Ian

[Rossi]

You're right Griff...pixs up and running!!!

2nd lifting section completed (except for a bit of painting), next to main station and covering the small gradient up towards the top curves.

Not sure what it is with me and canals/streams etc, but another one appeared without any formal planning. It just flowed out so to speak!
The original canal was on this part of the railway but got scrapped with the new make-over some time back.

The lights actually work albeit rather dim. They came in a small box of goodies a while ago from friends, so had to put them to good use.

Family and friends arrived yesterday so I can't see me making any headway on the next lift-out section as I'll probably be summoned to various watering holes!!! Hopefully!

[traingeekboy]

The layout is looking really good Rossi! No disrespect, but your new sections are a cut above your old scenics. You seem to have changed style from truly durable, to potentially fragile and I like it.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Rossie, the water canal is awesome what stuff are you using to model the water, I have seen in some British pics rail and canals working together.

In with all those kits you got from Your model railway village did you get the church, if so what part of the series is it in .

Saw a doco called Walking Through History with Tony Robison and the episode had church like the kit one,it was the tower of the church that looked the same, different bike though.

One of the TV mobs over here called SBS shows a lot of BBC doco's., I liked Time Team, but that was on our ABC network.

Took my first lot of the coaches from that series and ran them on my friends layout with no problems, can't wait to get the other 5 on order, Flying Scotsman is up and running again got something to pull the coaches till I get a British diesel loco, not sure on what class to get though, would like a 37 class or possible Deltaic class diesel will fit that era

[Rossi]

hi Tony,

questions to answer for you.

How do I do the water?

Bit of trial and error actually. On that last canal I first laid down a strip of cork sheeting then brushed on dark brown paint, then a mix of other dark colours from the odds and sods I had. Also swirled a bit of a paint brush which had some turps on it and mushed it all together until I was happy with the mixture.(All canals I can remember were filthy looking things)

Then I heaped some dark varnish (which I'd just used on the garden furniture) and did some strong brush strokes to give a little bit of "motion" to the murky looking water.

Adding a small boat also helps to lift the eye and brain to think that you are looking at water!!! Could do with a few swans but pretty sure we don't have any models like that over here.

The church is not from the "village railway." Can't remember where it came from. Also, in the magazine you only get parts of buildings in certain editions...so you have to collect two or even three editions to collate the full buildings. Clever idea, what?

Picture below (from my gallery) shows that the platform ends need painting white, but not sure if my eye and hand co-ordination is up to it! Might leave it as it is...but I keep looking at it.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Rossi,

It is amazing on how different modellers model water by using different colours to get the affect of the deep water by not buying that water resin stuff which is pretty expensive to buy and can go off, I like the way you have modelled your water canal just by doing different strokes with the brush the get that ripple affect.

Finely picked up the last order on the coaches from your model railway village, can't wait till when I go to my train next to run the 8 of them and the restaurant car be awesome, did run the first three I got and the restaurant on my friends layout which ran pretty good with out any issues, need to buy a British diesel loco, used his 37 class, couldn't run my Flying Scot as his layout is DCC.

Yeah that will be right, that's where they get you, having to buy three issues to compete a kit, I was reading on another forum that there are 120 issues for the whole series cost 1112.73 pounds I think, that would cost in Aussie dollar over $2.000, ouch pretty expensive layout, buy some very nice trains for that price and take two years to collect.

Looks good with the third centre track, I have done the same on my layout, can run a freight train through while there are two trains help up at on the platform track and your platforms have turned out very well, will copy the way you constructed your platforms.

[Rossi]

Another package arrived from England this week...and, yes, you've probably guessed. Another lot of "Your Model Railway Village."

Remember the first edition which gave you a completed coach? (And which are not available to buy any more...out of stock), well in issues 28 and 29 came the chassis (28) and then the body (29) to complete a second carriage.

I think it was Tony (Australia) who asked some months back about accessing the inside of the carriage. Well here are the instructions.

(It's no wonder I couldn't locate the screws initially!)

Next pic is a posed shot of the carriages and magazine as well as a cast off orchid from Mrs Rossi from our front garden. "It looks like it's dead" was the remark, "Do you want it on the railway?" Not sure what she meant by that, but after a couple of months of watering/talking to/and allowing it to have the therapeutic benefits of watching trains go by...we have blossoms.

She'll not hear the last of this. Just call me old Green Fingers from now on.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Rossie, yeah it was me that asked about how to take the shell came off, I was over at a friends layout test running the first set of three coaches and the Hornby restaurant car which ran perfectly without any issues, now I have eight of them and that always happens., discovered there was a screw in the middle and by the looks of one under the bogie. Wont be getting any more as I have complete 11 car train now, the maroon colours are different shade, not worried about it, another member said I could weather the coaches to dull them,may think about it.

I have all the pics of the new Hornby special addition Flying Scotsman with the double tenders on my post and yes the water tender will be powered as the FS will only pull 8 coaches up a grade and not 11, also the pics of the coaches brake and parcels vans too

Working on an old project also its Boeing 737 fuselage train, have scratch built one 737 700 series fuselage working on the main cradle that the fuselage bolts onto the flat wagon, plan to build 6 of them, awesome train with the specialised wagons.

Tony

[traingeekboy]

Your description of the now flowering plant being handed off gave both Sara and I a good chuckle. Maybe we are alone in thinking it's a funny story.

I wonder how many layouts those coaches will appear on. One could almost do a whole gallery of magazine coaches on various layouts around the world; and not just garden railways either.