esngblog

Well, not a good week on the railways.

Having been delayed till Monday due to lack of plywood, I spent the week carefully building a new baseboard.  I always have difficulty keeping things square, but this time built it up using my right-angled cramp (a very useful item).  All was well until I measured once only and cut something wrong, too late to change.  I managed to get around that, but with the last piece of wood in place, one of the baseboard side members seems to have developed a distinct banana shape.

I’ll take a look at it this morning, but it may be a write-off, and I think I’m going to do something else for a few days 🙂

Still, it’s been eventful otherwise!   The essential Marmite parcel was successfully sent to Germany for our eldest, as supplies had run out.  We included this special edition for her intended, who can’t stand the stuff…

Our son went back to work on the recycling lorries after two weeks off work – and a good time to be off, as 41 operatives self-isolated after a Covid case.  Fortunately, there were no more cases recorded.

Finally our youngest daughter moved home, and then decided not to, so took all her clothes away again.  All at a reasonable distance….  But on Friday morning when she appeared we were not only treated to a MacDelivery breakfast, but I also ordered a Ruchita takeaway in the evening.  Very pleasant, curry on the patio.  I remembered my old Indonesia trick.  If it’s got enough chillies and spice in it, the flies avoid it…..

Well, project complete!  I’m sure that there will need to be a little fettling and further track cleaning to get things moving, but it is almost there.  A simple 2-road 2′ or so fiddle yard bolts onto the main layout.

The point is one of those very useful Peco OO-9 mainline Y-points.  Compact, but with a larger radius than the SetTrack points.  Purely manual control at the moment.

And here’s the full length of the railway – a tad over 5′.

So I got some stock out and did a little switching.  This did indeed show that there’s a little work to be done on the track and the stock’s couplings.  Nevertheless, very satisfying….

What have I learnt from this build?

1. Small is most definitely beautiful.  Of course, each to their own, but I can’t imagine building something the size of, say, James Street (wonderful as it is.)  There’s a lot to be said for a small railway that can be built in a short time (even without the help of a pandemic.)
2. Don’t be afraid to rebuild or change things if you’re not happy with them.  I suppose that it has really taken five years to get this far – but there have been a couple of false starts along the way.
3. Work steadily.  I’ve done a little bit to the line most days – and taken a few off – and it’s surprising how quickly things get done.  Don’t be afraid to do a little bit of work, go away to let the glue or paint dry, then come back for another go.
4. If it’s not co-operating with you, walk away, do something else, and come back.  Particularly true of the fiddly bits!
5. It’s my railway – I’ll learn from everyone, everywhere, but then go and make my own mistakes, thank you very much!

Progress on the layout continues.  I fitted LED strip for the lighting, that has enabled me to take some better photos, below.  Scratching around the railway room, I have found enough plywood and track for a fiddle yard.  I’m going to do what I did on the final iteration of my ‘Earls Wood’ layout – a single point and two roads for storage.  Most of the wood is cut for the board – just need another session to put it all together.  It’s getting near time to choose one of about 20 new projects, or to run a few trains.

This panorama is a bit wobbly, but it shows the whole little line.

The local inhabitants and their dog are still waiting for a train…..

But the demo outside the factory is just warming up…..

All quiet at this end of the line…..

I’ve also had a pleasing purchase.  A ‘missing’ Terrier, ‘Ashtead’ came up on eBay, so I pounced for my collection.  And I couldn’t resist a well priced Pannier tank on the NGF Emporium.  No, I’m not going GWR….

Amazingly, the layout is just about done.  The scenics went together surprisingly quickly.  And the end result is OK – it can always be better, but I’m pretty happy with the whole thing

Now to put a cover and some lighting on the layout, and build a fiddle yard.  Perhaps I’ll do something else first….