A post on a post.

[traingeekboy]

And another language confusion between all of the supposed english speakers... What in the heck is a Mozzie? lol

Sorry, I was raised in a cardboard box in the middle of a wild continent inhabited by savages and puritans.

[jonblakeney]

Traingeekboy, Sometimes the Aussie slang just kreeps into a sentence unnoticed by me ,lol.

A Mossie is an Aussie way of saying Mosquito. (insert picture of me hand waving here ),lol.

[traingeekboy]

AH HA! I was really lost BTW, but now it makes complete sense.

[jonblakeney]

A Ghost Train no longer.

New crew members installed in my 2-10-2. Engineer,Fireman (both waving) and a brake man riding on the back of the caboose.

http://youtu.be/qus3EyGgmMM" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[traingeekboy]

Very nice. I prefer the steam over the diseasles.

[jonblakeney]

I to prefer steam. I plan to buy a Big Boy at some stage this year to scratch a very old itch. I plan to number it 4014 to match the Big Boy rebuild that Union Pacfic is undertaking as we ciber speak

Although steam is my favorite , I'm really starting to love the sound of big power lashed together in two's or three's pulling hard.

I will stay itchy untill I have my own Big Boy -(insert picture of me scratching here )

Jon.

[traingeekboy]

You would envy where I live. I am very close to the mainline for the Colorado joint line: ATSF now BNSF, and UP. The UP's loco facility at burham yard is a stones throw away from my home as well. I hear trains horns most times of the day. When they ran an excursion several years ago I woke to the sound of a strange horn on one weekend. I thought gee, that's steam. Yup, it was the challenger going through the grade crossings near my house.

I've also seen quite a bit of modern freight locos. One day I saw an 11 unit train, it was just a loco power move, no freight cars.

I have also seen the boeing airplane train come up the line. It's a special train for moving jet plane chassis between factories.

[jonblakeney]

I would be happy just to hear a Challenger go by.lol.

Jon.

[traingeekboy]

Right now I'm wondering If I hadn't posted that info about where I live before. I do tend to repeat my self at times.

Agreed on the challenger, it's amazing. It usually makes a trip to Denver every summer with a long rake of smooth side UP coaches in tow. If you go to youtube and look for UP challenger there is usually a slew of new videos every year.

Oh, and also the online tracker allows one to know where the steam engines are: http://www.up.com/aboutup/special_trains/steam/trace.cfm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[jonblakeney]

Yeh, you tube is an amazing place ,once you get in the zone hours can pass in minutes.lol.

That tracker sounds interesting as well.

[ba14eagle]

Hey Jon - what news from down under? Hope you are still enjoying your railway...

[cleanerg6e]

Looking good Jon.

For others on here 4X beer is written XXXX. They tried to sell it in the U.S.A but the yanks thought that the XXXX was a pornographic title and wouldn't buy it. (odd)

Villa Board is sold to line bathroom and laundry walls as it won't crumble like gyprock board used in living areas if it gets damp.

For TGB who saw the Boeing train. Apparently at the assembly plant in Washington the unpainted planes are moved across a multi lane motorway on an overpass to the paint shop at 2.30-300am so as not to cause a huge 'tailback'.

If I come down Jon I'll have to bring a Garratt to run as it's HO gauge, but only in the late autumn, winter or early spring. The rest of the time it's just too bloody hot for me!

Roy.

[jonblakeney]

Hi to all !Sorry about not posting for a while, ( a bit slack I know )

The weather in Sydney has been freezing and the wind just won't stop.

The railway has stood up to cyclone winds, pelting rain, drunk band members and sulpher crested cockatoo's .

My steel and fibre cement board construction method seems to be bullet proof now tested to both of Sydney's weather extremes.

As the board is heavy as a test I only fastened down the one board with two screws into cross members where boards join, the rest of the fibre boards are just sitting on the steel angle held there buy there own weight ,the shortest of which is about one meter long and none of the track bed has been moved by man or nature . My hunch was right gravity wins, the earth sucks .lol.

Because the track was laid on one of the hottest day summer,using three screws per length of flex(3 tie's in from each end and one in the center) I joined the track snug with no expansion gaps as the 3 screw method will let any further expansion be taken up with a small sideways movement of the track , (I have noticed any track movement yet ) and with all track joins soldered has stood up well to the bitter cold with all electric contacts holding up well.

While the weather is bad I have been doing paid online surveys and so far over the last 2 months or so have collected enough reward points to buy a coal hopper ,a flat car which will be good for putting the camera on,and a three dome tank car to go behind my steamer as an aux water supply. all with free postage off ebay. I will post a photo of the new arivals when I pull my finger out ,

Stay posted,Jon ,out.

[cleanerg6e]

I'm glad to see Jon that I'm not the only one to suffer from the dreaded Cockatoos.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, if you build solidly then you stand a good chance of your railway being able to stand up to the worst that mother nature can throw at it.

If you like I'll bring my action camera down. I went to an old friend who in his retirement has built an HO scale railway under his house. Well it is in the garage actually but it's so narrow that you'd need a convertible car so you could get in and out of it.

I had only tried my camera out on my OO line and so was a bit apprehensive as to whether it would fit on his HO scale line which has tunnels. He has an American double stack container wagon which I mounted the camera in. That wagon is not supposed to be lifted off the track as the bogies aren't exposed and when I went to turn it around it took ages to get it on the track again.

He called his layout the: St Barnabas Railway, but I couldn't find the vicar anywhere.

[jonblakeney]

Dawn French Rules,lol.-----I know ,I know ,I know

So far I have been lucky, I only cover the track with what was left laying around after construction to cover the track from Mother nature and her flock, ( when the railway is not in use ) , as of yet no bird damage, hinged track covers are a project for the future ,lol.

Roy Im sure your camera set up wil be way infront of what I'm using so feel free.

HO-OO It should not be a problem as I use Peco ,if it's DCC,WE CAN RUN.

[aussietmrail]

Hi Jon, good to see a few of us modellers from down under getting the 00 scale garden railway bug, I live in Ipswich QLD, been too cold to do any work outside on my layout, been working on a Boeing 737 fuselage project, want to complete it something different.

Talking about Cockatoo's, when I had my old layout set up under the pergola a Cockatoo used to fly in and sit on the corner of the module, even the when I had the trains running it did bother him pity I should of kept the pic, used to feed the birds sunflower seed , had too many of those wild pigeons flying in, only feed the lorikeets now with bread and honey. They need a helping hand as it is moving too fast up here with development, most of the native trees have been cut down shame, when we first moved here 27 years back we could hear Koala's calling in the evening, not now.

It is handy that Roy doesn't live that away from you, be good to see the cam camera in action .

Looking forward to spring, the morning are getting warmer, this Friday we are supposed to peak 26 degrees crazy, great day for working outside.

Tony

[jonblakeney]

Hi guys,the weather here still is no better for out door running so I have been doing more surveys

As a result two more loaded coal hoppers have been aquired again postage free ,good old ebay

$25 is not a bad price considering I don't have to leave the house,and a weeks wait is nothing

I also bought of ebay two more flat cars at $25 each.

So now the steamer has 15 total cars to pull plus a caboose,I will slowly add more coal hoppers as surveys and personal funds permit.

The passing siding is still in need of three lengths of flex and a set of points .Once it is finished I can determin the final length of the coal train the weather again to blame here

The point mentioned above will let traffic off the sidding and on to a branch line to a mine/(future extension)

Mean while I wait for SUN, BBQ's and TRAIN RUNNING.

OH THE PAIN !

[aussietmrail]

How is your outdoor layout progressing, I too have been doing some research on eBay and bought some Javis grass matting for my Tehachapi loop tunnel module, should arrive from Mareeba QLD today, got it for half the price to what I would of bought ii for in a hobby shop in Brisbane even their smaller pieces were the same price, pay to shop around.

It is a perfect winters morning up here in SEQLD not a cloud in the sky need a track suit till later on, nice day peaking 23 degrees, back into the layout on Friday and Saturday will see some progress again, there is more rain coming in tomorrow, I plan to do some work in the back garden transplanting some plants, they haven't been doing to well with no rain this winter.

You copped it worse that we did and more rain , Monday we had a wild windy day, wind up to 60K's an hour.

I will have to buy some more 89ft flat wagons and 60ft ones for my 737 fuselage project, need at least five, building a 757 fuselage to go on three flat wagons, something different for a train load.

[jonblakeney]

Hi Train lovers,yesterday a package arrived in the mail,now I have been wanting one of these for over 30 years and have finally lashed out and bought a Big Boy #4014 new of ebay from a fellow in Queensland,Ahtearn has discontinued them so it was now or never,I don't like the Riverrossie stuff,so Athearn got my bucks $493 inc postage,that's way under retail prices.

I can't wait for a sunny warm day to strech his legs on the backyard railway.

I will put up a photo soon,and a vid when weather allows.

[jonblakeney]

What a Ledgend.