Happy New Year!

Well I missed a post for December and it's half way through January already :-( Currently railway modelling in the Rogers' house has taken on more of a OO English outline. GWR specifically, although I have yet to narrow down the time period.

Why English in OO? Probably Thomas and Friends. Having been looking into the real life trains behind the world's most popular blue steam train has evoked fascination and nostalgia.

Fascination because England at one time had many little branch lines with stops not big enough for a station so they were called "halts". These branch lines make for great modelling opportunities because of their size. I love the idea of Chicago in the United States back when the stock yards were in operation and there were was a ridiculous number of railroads that stopped or went through the city, but modelling even a small part of that would require a huge indoor space. Modelling a significant part of an English branch line on the other hand is not such a big problem, if one compresses the distance between railway features like stations, crossings and halts.

Nostalgia because English outline OO was how my modelling years just prior to my move to N Scale were spent. At that time modelling in a new scale meant changing scales as finance was at a premium at that time, so for N scale to come, OO had to go. The thing I now miss most from that collection is the Collet 0-4-2T 14XX as done by Airfix all those years ago. Ubiquitous on GWR branch lines as a sturdy little engine, it would seem any GWR modeller must have at least one of these in their collection but all the models that were made of them are no longer in production. Airfix, Dapol, Mainline & Hornby (both as the prototype and as the loco "Oliver" from the Thomas series) have all tried their hand at making them but they are no longer producing them.

A Birthday purchase though (set to arrive quite soon from a reliable dealer in the United Kingdom) is another GWR branchline must have: the 0-6-0PT Pannier Tank locomotive as made currently by Bachmann Branchline. By all accounts a great performer and once she has arrived, photos will soon follow. And the Thomas connection? On the island of Sodor, the pannier tank loco's name was "Duck".

Christmas layout improvements have been so extensive as to point out issues with rolling stock rather than the layout: running is now much improved with reliability to the point were trains could be set to run unsupervised for a time. If that statement seems ridiculous, you have either never modelled in N scale or done a much better job with track laying than I. I now have a list of things I wish to do to the rolling stock and so on given the layout itself is running so well. Not that it is finished in any way of course, what would be the point?

Hopefully that is enough for now, I better get back to watching a HD trip along the Bergen Line in Norway. And for the geeks out there, one of the stations (Finse) is Hoth!

And what's a post without a picture? Latest project on the go, a Dapol un-motorised locomotive: Evening Star. English yes but BR so post-GWR days but she is painted GWR's trademark Brunswick Green

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

So December is just on the horizon and that means two things:

1. time for a post and


2. I better have the Christmas tree layout nearly ready.

Well the good news is that trains have recently done multiple laps of the layout successfully. The not so good news is that after getting the bridge track fixed to the trestle bridge and then the joining pieces matched up to provide nearly seamless trackage, I have started on further enhancements to the visual appearance of the layout.

So far :

• the track has been rust painted (and the guide rails too)


• the tunnel interiors have been painted dark brown


• a layer of plaster has been applied to the mountains to cover gaps and add further features to the mountains


• the trestle bridge was painted a more woody and less matchsticky brown prior to fixing the bridge track

Over the next few days (mostly nights really) I plan to:

• glue the guide rails to the bridge track


• paint the sleepers a consistent brown and while doing so cover any glue and nails/track pins


• sculptamold the areas of scenery that have not been augmented by plaster as above


• cover the "snow scaped" scenery with some form of snow material, having most recently seen this at Fisher Discounts

It all looks like being "on track" as it were. When the 0-6-0 that I like to think of as a substitute 4466 ran smoothly around the tracks and then with a boxcar and train of three overton coaches did the same thing, it was a beautiful moment of model railroading. Especially with my daughter at my side eager to see the train go in and out of the tunnels and over the bridge. Another beautiful moment occurred when my Berkshire (never run on Union pacific but this is my railroad and she does look good in UP colours) also ran the length of the bridge smoothly and with ease. The downer being that on the minimum radius parts of the ellipse that occur near the tunnels combined with the narrow tunnel portals to make the locomotives overhang too much for her to go all the way around.

To me the running of trains is one of the magic moments of model railroading. I like making the models and completing a project and so many aspects of model railroading but my favourite part is just watching trains in motion. Canberra is a place this doesn't happen an awful lot compared to when we lived next to or near the Ipswich rail line in Brisbane which had the beauty of being a passenger and freight line as well as being on the way to the Ipswich Railway Workshop so a steam locomotive was not out of the question. So for now, much of my enjoyment of trains comes through my modelling. That will have to be enough good times and memories in miniature and life size for this entry, night all.

OO Superquick platform and buildings

Before October passes by without an entry, here is the 90% complete OO Superquick platform and buildings. Following the advice from a hobby shop owner in Brisbane some years ago now, I reinforced the building interior with matchsticks and paddle pop sticks as I assembled. The aim is to prevent the cardboard from warping/sagging with age. Well hopefully I made it strong enough :-)

Because the kit did not come with the usual marked windows and glazing, I went to the parts box and got some clear plastic. But checking against depictions, the framing in the glazing is an integral part of the appearance and roofs of models are what get seen the most. So off to Fisher Discount for some plastic bits. Is there nothing that Evergreen doesn't make?

Some super thin strips for the glazing and some rod for the down pipes: chuppa chup sticks being too thick even in OO scale :-( The extra detail parts are still outside drying from being painted and not installed in the below shots. Also some in progress shots to show how much fun you can have with bracing and strengthening.

November tomorrow means I better get back to the Christmas project: painting trestle bridge and them laying track and joiners is top priority. Some tunnel enhancement would be good. A proper coating of scenic material would be nice... Stay tuned!

Post Script: Decals

They are as easy as it reads in the July Model Rail Magazine. Results may be better with all the chemical setters and stuff, but I had tweezers, a bowl of warm water, scissors and a knife. And looking at the enlarged photos, there are alignment issues that will get better with practice, I hope.

How does it look?

I thought you'd never ask :-)

Haven't forgotten my blog...

Okay, testing my skills on the bridge track and so far it works well and is "easy" to use. Have laid down a loop that had a length of bridge track in it. I was able to then lay the two guard rails and fasten them with super glue, as per the included instructions. Things learned? The loop was tighter than NRMA standards but still the guard rails bent to shape easily and I was able to super glue them in short distances at a time. Because the loop was tighter than NRMA standards, I learnt another possible reason for the standards: material memory. Bend a piece of cardboard a little way and it springs back. Bend it a lot and it will retain the kink. So too with nickel silver rails: the too tight loop ended up with some kinks instead of the smooth curves possible with larger radii.

Now to other things happening in between weekends. Two wagon kits: a 12T van and a BR brake van. The brake van got painted prior to assembly and then some more as assembly progressed. I have yet to affix the decals because this would be my first time doing decals. One of the issues I have with decals is the age of the kits I have dealt with in the past and whether decals have a use by date. The other reason is the prospect of doing a new thing wrong. Writing this, the worst that can happen is the decals don't turn out and the model looks as it does now without the decals. And a recent purchase of the not so easy to find Hornby steam roller. Work has commenced on assembling a SuperQuick station island platform and platform buildings.

P.S. Loving the AUTO setting up close on the Canon SX120IS!

Bridge track and exhibitions

Well folks the bridge track finally arrived. After them getting the wrong stuff, they then got the right stuff. They said they could bring the right stuff to Malkara Exhibition, that sounded great. Anyway, in the end they posted it out at their cost (cause they forgot in all that must go on in getting a stall at an exhibition) and I have put together a barrel platform. Was the wait worth it? The track looks great and the extras add so much authenticity, the instructions imply that people who buy bridge track are too hardcore to need pictures, I have yet to set up a test of the guard rails etc, but I will be putting word and pictures up when I do. Will I be ordering through them again, sadly no. In future the Internet will be my friend. That doesn't mean overseas per se, but an automated order system seems to work better. Malkara was good with a new better camera, it makes a big difference to the shots one can take. Many similar exhibits as previous years, also got to see the model club in action and I feel that I am perhaps too young and not quite serious enough to meet the cut, pity. Anyway, this is just a quick post to say track has arrived so work will soon be resuming on those projects that went on hold. As a little aside, doing a small diorama of a work site with a pile of ballast, it was meant to be a cone and I will try to bring it back to a more regular shape but the water glue mix was too much water and not enough glue at first. Photos when it looks passable. Just gone from being late to being early so time to sign off.

Results so far...

Okay, so the shop calls me to say the HO track has arrived, but I wanted N scale. The track that would take 5-6 weeks back in April. So a special order that should only take "2-3 weeks." So here I am trying to support Australian hobby shops but I have to say the results have not been in my favour. More news when the track fianlly arrives but not a great experience so far.

As for the model railway group, I have to say my experience was okay but I will not be joining just yet. Why? To avoid having to keep up with the Joneses in terms of moving to DCC, upgrading all my equipment to fully detailed replicas and so on: the majority of guys there are much closer to retirement than I and so don't have the kids/mortgage/space issues I do at present. Good to try, not willing to buy juast yet, but I will keep it in mind.

But, here is the issue: I have been reading about the loss of skills associated with steam engines etc. Trains and model trains tend to be hobbies of older, well, men mostly. Younger guys do not have the time money and so on to carry the torch which may burn out before they get their lives together to do some carrying. Food for thought perhaps.

Those who care about trains and especially steam probably already know about this but passed through Maitland recently and discovered they have an annual steamfest that has multiple, multiple, steam engines! So book your holidays for April next year folks.

And becuase I've been a little short on the pics in recent posts, but also because we have a new camera that is quite good (for our budget anyway), enjoy some westinghouse pump shots of 2-4-0 1042 currently under cover in Maitland but set for restoration and much goodness.