Catching Up...

All,

With the Fish River station disaster and rebuild now completed, I turned my attention to the last two "foreign orders" that I have on the books to complete.  The first is the subject of this blog post and the other is the completion of a substructure for a G2 goods shed. The bridge is now ready to despatch to it's new owner... while the goods shed project should be completed over the weekend.  It will be nice to have a clear construction bench and no outstanding orders.

The bridge project has been a testing but enjoyable time.  The initially discussed dimensions seemed a tad formidable but after a few days of thought it did become clear that it was possible and a start was made.  For the records the project brief called for a single lane road bridge of 640mm in length with the roadway width of 50mm between kerbing.  No real issues thus far but the span and location of the bents proved to be the brain teaser in the equation.   The bent assemblies had to be 180mm high and the terrain of the existing  layout dictated that these bents were to be located 180mm in from each end leaving a 280mm main centre span. 

I must admit that the thought of creating something that has no direct link to an existing Australian prototype example did not appeal to me in the first instance... but I do relish a challenge and here was one dropped straight in my lap.

As much as we have the basic drawings and machining files available from our existing bridge range of kits, I did not envisage that I would need to modify nearly every file to achieve the outcome.  Commercially available basswood comes in 600mm long sheets and as this dimension would not allow the bridge girders to be manufactured in one piece a decision was made to fabricate them in 3 pieces with a step join located over the bridge bent locations.  The join could be hidden with handrail stanchions and structural integrity could be enhanced...so this method was adopted.

Even though the bridge width was a fair bit narrower than our kits, I still elected to include 5 longitudinal bridge girders which also forced my hand to construct 5 pile bridge bents with the centre 3 being vertical and the outer piles flared to look the part.  In an attempt to keep the whole thing looking as Australian as was possible, the bents were constructed with headstocks, intermediate waling and upper and lower angle bracing.

With the project now essentially complete I have included some pics of the finished structure.  Success is certainly in the eye of the beholder and even though I have deviated wildly from any known Australian prototype to fulfil the brief...I look forward to seeing some photos of it weathered and in situ on the layout. From an aesthetic viewpoint, I feel it could use some knee bracing between the bents and the underside of the main centre span to make it appear as if the span is supported more adequately...but there is the negative view that this may also take away any Aussie flavour.  Anyway this point has been discussed with the client and these can be retrofitted when installation is complete.

You Just Have To Laugh...

All,

As touched on in a previous post, all the trackage, points and ballasting has now been completed on the Fish River section of the layout and with scenery coming along it was time to start placing the intended structures in place and settle on a permanent location for these infrastructures.

A couple of posts have dealt with the Fish River station building and I decided to give it one more makeover before final placement.  Extra detail was added and yet another facing "incarnation" was fitted as well.  This work took place over a weekend in January and following completion with only some glued sections to dry and some paint touch ups...I placed the structure on a box on the kitchen counter to admire, inspect and photograph my handiwork. 

As I took a step away to grab the camera...a gust of wind came through the back door and the inevitable happened...The station disappeared over the side of the breakfast counter like a ship down a slipway at launching...I reached out in vain as it glanced off one of the stools with no real chance of reaching it.  At that moment I would guess the look on my face was akin to just being told I was pregnant...mixed with a "how did that happen" expression.  After what seemed like an eternity of just standing there...the time came where I had to venture around to the other side of the counter and survey the damage first hand.  Without going into detail...destruction was almost total.

And so it was... that the following two weeks of spare time was fully allocated in that split second.  It took around 30 hours to rebuild and refabricate all the "bits" required to reinstate the building to its original glory...

Upon completion of this rebuild...no chances were taken and the unit was placed on the counter next to the stove to take the obligatory photographs...no chance of wind or other imminent danger here!!!....or so I thought.  This bench is located underneath a glass fronted, wall mounted cupboard that holds my collection of beloved mugs...The ones that are used to supply me with copious cups of tea throughout the day.  Our 11 year old daughter is now quite adept at making superb cups of tea and does generally enjoy "doting" on her dad!  After she had inspected the now finished structure...she decided that a cup of tea was in order to celebrate the "reincarnation" of Fish River Station.....Are you ahead of the story yet?

As Soph gingerly reached over the structure to get a mug from the cupboard...you guessed it... she lost her grip and the
Sydney Rail Network mug buried itself very neatly somewhere between the Ladies Waiting Room and the Booking Office.  It seemed like an eternity that Soph and I just looked at each other until she broke the silence by asking..."Will I get a bung for this?."  Laughter quickly followed.  It must be stated for the record that all passengers and station staff escaped this calamity with only minor scratches and shock...Can't wait to see the departmental report...

And so it was again that the "hoodoo" station was to undergo it's second rebuild within a month and I can't wait to place the structure this weekend before something else happens.  I must admit that the rebuilt/rebuilt chimneys and roof do look a lot better than the previous versions...They do say that you have to build at least three houses before you end up with what you want...

And so I have included a photo of the structure with the facing still to have it's final weathering applied and this will take place in situ so that the layout room lighting is taken into account...I must admit that I like this design of facing and as a consequence we have made a number in kit form for the Laser Rail Bits range.

A couple of finials will also have to be replaced as well to match the originals....again when the station is in situ.

What a month!!!

 

Interpretation...And The Hobby...

All,

I have been catching up on some blog reading during the week and there were at least four of my regular sites where "interpretation" of certain layout aspects and building was discussed in some form or another. 

This fact got me thinking as the word interpretation seems to crop up a lot in our hobby for a myriad of reasons and I am certain it has influenced the way I approach or view the hobby ...so following a few days of mulling this over in my mind I thought I would attempt to put my thoughts into writing and at the same time it might give me a better understanding of the phenomena.

I thought of other "artistic" avenues far removed from our hobby where interpretation takes place to attempt a comparison of how it is used and the outcomes it provides and have come up with at least two comparisons

Firstly I examined a "portrait artist" and why it is, that a person would still mix up paint and spend hours if not days and months to achieve a likeness that could be attained in a few seconds via simple and relatively cheap digital camera technology and output to print in a few seconds... indeed if he wanted to embellish or personalise the raw photograph then there is also software available that will allow most things to be achieved with a few clicks of the mouse button.

The sculptor is another example, some still toils for massive amounts of time in clay or bronze to complete a bust that could now be accurately created by computer technology in the form of 3D printing and/or rapid prototyping, all without the need to be judged by some as accurate or not.

It is also interesting how the public perceives or interprets the artist's work.  I have seen many famous portraits that to my eye, display ( possibly through lack of understanding ) very little in common with the subject matter.  Indeed some of these "prized" works seem almost childlike to me. I do try and find the "key" to it all...but sometimes struggle.   The Archibald Portrait competition is a perfect example where some works are derided by some and loved by others...This brings another factor into the equation and that is the link of how the artist views his work versus how the audience then views it....There is an unmistakeable comparison that can be drawn to our hobby here...

I wonder how many artists evaluate and re-evaluate in their minds as to whether they are satisfied with one of their works...or whether they gauge their own success solely on public reaction...and does an artist readily admit that the level of interpretation of the subject of an artwork is actually linked to his or her skill level?  It may be that I am over thinking the point and artists are just like most modellers and "do it for fun" Or maybe they see this "interpretation" as their personal slant on reality.   

Of course creating a model railway cannot be done in a single session via computer technology...Some of us choose to model a prototype location, take a plethora of photographs and triple check all dimensions and try to replicate this in exact and minute detail...while some of us take a different path and create a fictitious location that includes elements of what we enjoy and combine this to provide a landscape to run our trains through...is this approach the sole meaning of "interpretation"?

I then started to wonder how many of us create a layout based solely on our own wants and needs or whether the perception of how the layout will be viewed and evaluated by others influences the decisions we make?.  Do we all strive for perfection and then sometimes offer up the excuse of interpretation in lieu of recognising our overall limitations?.
I am not sure whether the comparisons I have drawn upon to illustrate this post are fair and reasonable...but it was the closest I could come up with for a self explanation.

So what is the point of this post.  Well for me the issue does have some personal significance because I have been wondering whether the issues raised here ( and discussed on other blogs ) played some part in my loss of interest in the hobby last year. Was it a fear of failure? and was that fear a personal fear or the fear of being judged to have failed in the eyes of peers and other modellers.

I may incur a bit of a spray for this next comment...but of all the pastimes that I am involved with in life...this hobby does appear to have a rather judgemental nature. To illustrate that point one only has to take a look at Railpage and other such forums where "interpretation" is sometimes viewed as failure and only perfection ( whatever that is ) is acceptable.

Another point that is not lost on me is that a fair proportion of those "critics" are not currently engaged in building a layout...or are active modellers.  While I am certainly not saying that the ownership of a layout is the sole pre-requisite of being a critic... It is a reality that it is "easier to judge than to be judged"...  I guess we are all guilty of that at some time or another. 

For me going forward is a new found interest, inspiration and approach to my layout based solely on MY needs and wants.  I certainly will continue to push myself, learn new skills and hone others. I will continue to blog regularly and seek input from other modellers...but the emphasis will be on fun as my spare time is as limited as most of us and I will be utilising that time for creating self enjoyment instead of doubt and worrying about..."interpretation"

Have a great week!!!     

       

Fish River Update and Tour...

All,

With all of this hot weather, work on the layout proper has been limited.  As much as the train room is fully insulated and lined it does preclude comfortable working during weather extremes and other pursuits are attended to during these periods 

I have however brought the track plan up to date and have included it with this post to allow readers to follow the progress and to discuss what comes next.

I have labelled points of interest and will refer to them in the post...

Layout Total Area...12metres x 3.8metres

Directional Note: As an Example

 From Point "A" Down Trains toward Point "C"

Up Trains From Point "A" towards Point "J"

A.  Fish River Station and Yards...The station building and platform has been removed from the layout and is undergoing a makeover before permanent installation. The yard and features will be discussed in a future post.

B.  Loco servicing road.  As much as the points from the main have been laid in...the final configuration of this area will occur some time soon.  I have a 90 foot TT built by Bruce Akrigg and this may end up being positioned in this area. If not a minimum will be a coal stage and other servicing requirements.

C. Fish River yard entrance and positioning for tunnel portal to take the main under the elevated branch line that will terminate at point "E" (More on this later)

C1. Tunnel Portal to bring main line back into view.

D.  Divergence point for the branch line from the main...The branchline which terminates at point "E" will begin to climb from shortly beyond the junction with the main line and will climb at around 2% to a point where the branch crosses over the main at around point "C1"  I have not made the decision as to whether the branch between these two points will be visible or hidden.

Note:  The main line run between points "C1" and "D" will be rural running with a wayside station and most likely a short loop. I have intentionally laid the main at an angle so as to try and get away from parallel to fascia track work in an attempt to add some visual interest and variation.

E. Branch terminus.  My feeling at this stage is that the finger bench that will house the terminus will contain a cement works and a small passenger station.  I have an extensive collection of buildings completed for this area. The "finger" benchwork will be at a higher level than the balance of the layout.

F. Main line tunnel portal...The mainline will circumnavigate this room hidden behind a screen backdrop and will only reappear beyond point "H" and the tunnel portal to take it into the main layout room.

G.  Branchline terminus area.  The branch begins at Fish River and the tunnel through the "existing wall" at Point "I" will act as a scenery block...between the branch terminus and the layout room proper. I have no final plan for this area at this stage.

H.  Main Line tunnel portal that returns the hidden main to the layout room proper.

I.  Branchline tunnel portal that creates a scenery block between the branch terminus and the layout room proper.

J.  Fish River valley....this area and related bridges over the river has been extensively covered in previous posts and photographs.

K.  Named Henderson's Siding...and will have a ( namesake) flour mill and quite possibly a fuel depot.  Flour Mill building is almost complete and again has been covered in previous posts.

X to X.  I have purposely left the trackwork missing between these two points on the plan.   There are two possibilities here.  Presently the trackwork is in place between Fish River yard and presently terminates near the tunnel portal at point "H" The track presently acts as a shunting neck extension of the loop through Fish River yard and may stay that way.  The other option is to extend this track thru the tunnel keeping it hidden with the main beyond this point and exit the layout through the wall where the isolated section of track marked "X" is located at bottom left of the plan...and into the newly built "modelling room" This extension could become a repair road and could later contain an "off layout" marshalling area located in the modelling room.

Presently all track with the exception of the branch diverging from the main at point "D" and the branch terminus at point "G" has been laid wired and all pointwork motorised.  The two main control panels ( discussed in previous posts ) have been completed and are operational.  There will be a need for "satellite" mini panels at different points around the layout as work progresses on both major branch lines and these will be tackled in due course and when final configuration of these areas is decided upon.  Of course there are smaller areas that need to be planned and decided as well such as the loco service area etc.

With an operational loop of the layout room now completed, attention will now focus on completing scenery on the Fish River station and yard area and when this is complete I will then have the opportunity to look at the rest of the layout and begin to finish scenes as "instalments" to the bigger picture.

Well that's about it for now...I hope that this up to date plan and description has given readers of this blog a new perspective in which to follow progress.           
  



 



   

IPads, Magazines and The Cultural Shift

All,

Around 2 years ago I decided to research out the reasoning behind the IPad and whether it would have a place in my life.  Having a high school age daughter also keeps me hungry to keep up with the technology that is ( or is about to be ) a normal feature of her life.  Following an extended period of being on the maybe list, I decided to approach the department of "Domestic Affairs" to discuss the likelihood of purchasing a unit.  I received the usual reply which is "If you think you can find a need for it...then buy one". 

Well the rest is now history and after 18 months of ownership...I don't see much of the mysterious tablet at all.  The girls have hijacked the once, much scoffed at and maligned purchase and I have been reduced to chief battery charger and not much else.  Indeed I have now been approached by my little band of "non believers" and am being hammered to get another unit.

With a little downtime over Christmas and some time alone with the elusive Ipad...I discovered a whole new world of "stuff" that I found interesting.  I was also able to come to terms with a couple of "apps" that may also come in handy for operating the layout some day...and while these little gems are of great interest and blog worthy...they are not the reason behind this particular post.

Like most fellow modellers, I have a reasonably large arsenal of rail related books and publications and apart from these "one offs"...I also purchase a number of magazines from local and overseas sources on a regular basis through my local newsagency.  Apart from AMRM...I also buy four overseas offerings...they being Hornby Magazine, Railway Modeller, British Railway Modelling and Model Rail.  Apart from these I also pickup bespoke copies of other magazines based on the individual contents of each issue and whether they tickle the fancy.

At the end of the day, all of these purchases add up financially and of course being a hoarder of the past editions, storage then becomes a problem.  Examing the costs involved in buying the four British Magazines locally is also worthy of discussion and a real eye opener...

Hornby Magazine: UK price: 3.60 pound = $6.68 Aud...Newsagency Price: $9.95

Railway Modeller: UK price: 3.95 pound = $7.33 Aud...Newsagency Price: $8.99

British Railway    : UK price: 3.75 pound = $6.95 Aud...Newsagency Price: $14.20
Modelling

Model Rail            : UK price: 3.75 pound = $6.95 Aud...Newsagency Price: $12.50

While I have not factored in the (minus) VAT vs (plus) GST factor...it is certainly easy to see that when one takes freight into consideration...the first two magazines in the list appear to be a fair cover price...while British Railway Modeller and Model Rail certainly have some explaining to do re the newsagency price here in Australia and this explains why I am not a strict monthly devotee of these two magazines. Maybe it has to do with circulation...but nevertheless I needed to curb my literary intake and be a little more discerning in my choices.

And so we finally come to the heart of this post.  It is possible to take out an "online" subscription to most magazines and have them automatically downloaded to the Ipad for a far cheaper price than what I am forking out now.  The only issue I had to try out and attempt to overcome was the generational change from a physical magazine to an online Ipad or tablet driven reading medium. 

I decided to take out subscriptions to two of the listed magazines and see how I would react to reading while utilising this medium...either on the lounge, at a table or indeed bed (my normal haunt for such pursuits).  I must say after about a month I am virtually sold on the idea. 

Firstly is the price difference between this medium and the old traditional physical magazine that I was purchasing over the counter... I have forked out around  $44 AUD for a 12 month online subscription for Hornby Magazine as against a yearly total of  $119.40 over the counter...and $44 AUD for the same with Model Rail magazine as against $150.00 over the counter...

Apart from a hefty saving on my traditional methods, other factors that I need to take into account are...No more trips to the Newsagency (sometimes futile) looking for my mags and no more impulse purchases of other magazines while at the agency.  The current edition(s) are downloaded automatically.  And the added bonus...no more storage woes of past magazines.  Also the reading of the magazine is enhanced by the ability to zoom in and the clarity of text and pictures is superb...

I admit it is only early days...but as said before...I have been pleasantly surprised by my transition to this new fangled method of magazine interaction and I look forward to having more time to research out and explore what else is achievable ( now and into the future ) with an Ipad regarding the layout and layout control.

One other item I would recommend to anyone contemplating this medium is an item that I picked up at Target, that acts like a "bean bag" chair for the Ipad.  I think it is called a Pillow Pad or similar... and fits most tablets on the market...It certainly makes using an Ipad a lot easier and more comfortable... You can place the Ipad in almost any position and it remains stable without having to hold it...

In closing...I can only hope that AMRM is available in this format one day and then my trips to the newsagent will be limited only to "panic" runs for birthday and anniversary cards!!!

       

    

 

Who Let The Smoke Out...Part 2

All,

After solving the problems thus far and checking everything appeared correct, it was time to liven the layout up again.  This time all went according to normal and the panel lit up as it should and the points moved into the default position.  All LEDs were lit and no shorts were occurring.  The next step was to check the actual orientation of each point to see that this matched the route as per the panel LEDs.  In this case 5 matched and 3 were opposite.  This phenomena is not unusual and a quick transposition of LED wires in the panel is all that is required to rectify the problem.  All is now looking as it should so the next step in "commissioning" the yard was to operate each set of points and fine tune the throw if required.

I pushed the button to throw the first set of points and you guessed it...nothing happened.  Each set of points was thrown and again nothing happened with any of them.  It was about now that I was ready to throw in the towel for the night and I retired to the kitchen, kicked the cat and made a cup of tea.  It is amazing sometimes how just walking away for a few moments can allow ( in some cases ) the brain to catch up and it dawned on me that this issue occurred when commissioning the other end of the yard.  For the life of me I could not remember what course of action I took at that time...but I knew it was a simple solve.  A re read of the Cobalt manual uncovered the reasoning for the inactivity of the points and then it all come flooding back. 

If you are utilising the AD1 or AD4 decoders to operate the Cobalt point motors...the decoders have to be programmed before commencement of operation irrespective of whether you are operating the points manually via the panel or through the NCE ( or chosen system ) handpiece.  It is a very simple task to "train" the decoders and once this was completed all is now working as it should.  Sometime later I will give each set of points a new unique number which will possibly be... even for up and odd for down...but that is a way off yet as I prefer to operate the points via the panel and not the NCE handpiece and for now I have given them numbers starting from 1 just to get them working.

Even to the most casual reader of this blog it would be obvious that I have chosen Cobalt point motors and decoders to utilise right across the layout and while I have little knowledge of competitors products to compare the Cobalts with...I am relatively happy with them so far.  I have read many times on chat groups that some people have had no end of trouble with them...but at this early stage they are doing everything I want of them.  I would however, offer some advice to anyone contemplating using them and that is to ensure that you use the mounting pad that is available from DCC Concepts as to mount the motor using anything less will ensure that your motors are extremely noisy!!!  I am at a loss to understand why these pads are not packed with the Cobalt motors ex factory and are only available as an accessory.  I would imagine that most complaints of motor noise would disappear if they sold them with the motor....Anyway I guess it is a commercial decision...

With Fish River yard all but complete I can now turn my attention to closing the layout gap and hopefully will soon enjoy continuous running...
   

 

Who Let The Smoke Out...Part 1

All,

Here we are with Christmas just a memory and January 2014 in full swing.  I spent a bit of time on the layout in the last few weeks in amongst juggling customer's jobs that just HAD to be completed.  Following on from the last post I have now installed all pointwork and associated tracks at the down end of Fish River yard.  All point motors have been installed and all wiring was finalised last night. Lastly was the "power in" link to the control panel and all was in readiness to "liven" up the newly installed panel and the now complete yard.  It always amazes me the trepidation I feel when a section is completed and it is time to introduce power.  It should be a time to rejoice as all the blood, sweat, tears, profanities and stiff joints that have been invested should pay dividends and the enjoyment of running a train or three should be just around the corner...Right???.

When I completed the Up end of the yard and associated trackwork and control...I double, triple checked every joint and connection and then went over everything with a multimeter to ensure all was as it should be before livening things up and with this approach it all went remarkably well.  With the down end of the yard I foolishly threw caution to the wind in some instances and decided that as this end would be a mirror image of what I had already done and if all methodology was copied then there should (in theory) be minimal issues.  I did visually check everything and then hit the on button...

From the instant power was introduced it was clear that a short was occurring and the NCE system went into protection mode...power was turned off and smile turned to frown. An hour long inspection was undertaken in an attempt to uncover the culprit.  Nothing appeared to be wrong so I isolated all point motors and reintroduced them one by one in an attempt to nut out the issue.  During testing of the second set of points and with me under the layout I failed to notice a short and only became aware when I could smell something was not right...Another panicked shutdown and another inspection to find the source of the "leaking smoke". After another 15 minutes of head scratching and bewilderment...I found the source!!!.  The frog polarity wire had burnt the underlay on this set of points and closeup inspection revealed a partly melted sleeper.  My initial thought was that while fitting the points the frog polarity wire had somehow become dislodged from it's housing and was now in contact with both running rails....but upon lifting the point it was fairly obvious that sheer carelessness was the gremlin.

It may help to explain that I use Peco code 75 "live frog" points universally on the layout and also conduct the usual makeover of each point to make them DCC friendly and because I utilise Cobalt point motors ( and for appearance sake) I also remove the bulk of the throwbar detail, over centre spring and housing etc.  I then replace all removed sleepers with copper clad circuit board type sleepers.  I have been trapped in the past by not gapping these copper clad sleepers prior to installation and they have only been discovered during routine inspection before powering up the new section.  In this case this issue was not the culprit...  The issue was that as part of the DCCising of the point I had not removed the factory fitted links and as such with the modifications that I had carried out and the non removal of these links... the point was now had an inbuilt short circuit.... Luckily my stupidity was only discovered on 2 sets of the 8 that had been laid...

The story does not end there and Part 2 will complete the saga of Fish River yard...

For those unfamiliar...I have fitted soldered links that are visible centre right...which in order to operate correctly require the links visible at left to be removed... ( This shot was taken after removal )

          

Burning of cork roadbed and underside of sleeper...with frog polarity wire disappearing under the baseboard...

Damage to underside of the point....