Model this…… if you dare!

Posted on February 2, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

Spotted on NGF this week, as the Polar Vortex hits the USA (the other great headline was ‘Alligators freeze in lake’).

Polar vortex: Fire used to melt ice on Chicago train tracks

Flames from gas-fed heaters are melting away snow and ice at railway intersections in Chicago. It helps to keep the trains running with fewer delays. The US deadly cold snap has caused temperatures in the Illinois city to drop as low as -30C (-22F).

Comments on NGF included:

Nothing new. I can recall wandering round the West Coast Main Line with a hired garden weedkilling flame thrower, melting the ice and snow out of points. When we needed to re-grease them, point the flame at the can of grease to thaw it out, then we could grease the slide chairs. Gave the local Signal And Telegraph people palpitations we were going to burn through their cables! (We never did!)

Pretty standard stuff here, (well not on Vancouver Island.. we don’t get much snow). When I lived in Nova Scotia, the local yard in Dartmouth used a mobile jet engine to melt the ice

They tried the jet engine on UK track and on UK runways…  It stripped the tarmac of the runways.  It fired ballast at high speed an anything in the vicinity.

Still, if we can model sparking pantographs, surely we can model glowing points?

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Another Minories

Posted on January 31, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

Last layout from the Southampton show – Spanker Lane, a Minories layout under construction in ‘N’.  The show guide states that:

Spanker Lane is found in the north of England, where green DMU’s are the order of the day, although loco hauled trains can occasionally be seen. After passing alongside the canal exchange sidings and small goods yard trains arrive at Spanker Lane station.

The layout is a work in progress based upon ‘Minories’ by C. Freezer.  However, the goods yard was never on the original plan.  The layout is DCC controlled.

The layout is built on four 2′ long boards (platforms, pointwork, the added goods yard, and traverser.  This is definitely an economy sized layout, with no more than a four coach train.  It would be ideal for CJF’s original concept of small tank engines and short coaches.  The station throat is classis Minories, with a pair of hinged boards, and scenic boards added to the front.

The short platforms….

And the traverser, operated by No. 1 calibrated eyeball (and lots of tea by the looks of it.)  I liked the point on the traverser, increasing storage for a couple of short trains, whilst limiting the distance the traverser has to move.

A very satisfying little layout, and I hope to see the scenic version in due course.

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Southhampton MRS exhibition 2019 #2

Posted on January 29, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

One of the highlights of the show was a chance to see Loftus Road in the flesh.  This ‘OO’ layout is based on the West London Line around Kensington from the 1990’s to today.  The West London Line carried, and carries, a wide variety of prototypes keeping the layout operation interesting, and between trains there are plenty of scenic cameos to examine.

     

In contrast, Garreg Wen is a small ‘oo9’ layout set somewhere in Snowdonia.  Most attractive modelling, again locating the layout in a real place and time.

 

Always good to see Happisburgh Goods in ‘O’, the remnant of the larger Great Eastern terminus that did the rounds in the 1990’s.  The name, in Broad Norfolk is, of course, pronounced Haysbro’.

The other layout I wanted to see at the show was St Ruth, a 2mm fine scale layout based o Penzance.  The fact that it is 2mm is not the main attraction (although the fine trackwork helps), as the railway is framed by some excellent scenic work.  Operation uses the full 24-hour timetable.  I went back for a second look, but found that there was a real crush and I couldn’t get near the layout.  It is that good!

     

Ian Milroy was there with San Maria Gandia…

More old friends from the ESNG show in the form of City Basin Goods and Atlantic Road.

   

Friday Bridge is the Wisbech and Upwell in P4…

And last (except one layout to discuss next time) is Canute Road Quay, a minimum space ‘OO’ shunting layout somewhere in Southampton Docks, and hosting some large locomotives such as the Adams B4 and USA tanks.

It says a lot for the quality of the show that there were only a couple of layouts not featured here – and one I missed out, a fascinating narrow gauge quarry line with a working grab that loaded the wagons with sand.

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Southampton MRS exhibition 2019 #1

Posted on January 27, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

A trip down to Eastleigh today for the excellent Southampton MRS exhibition.  There were some excellent layouts on show, and plenty of trade, though I was a good boy and bought absolutely nothing.  Derek came along with me and it was good to have some company for the 80 mile trip each way.  This is definitely at the limits of my exhibition visiting!

I’ll do the usual pictorialsurvey of the layouts, but they will be as we looked at them, rather than by scale.  We start with Stoke-by-Nayland, an attractive slice of ex-Great Eastern Railway in Suffolk, in P4.  Very recognisable as Suffolk, and some added interest in that ‘Dingham’ automatic couplers are used.  These are certainly one of the least conspicuous couplers available, a good balance between the robust and the invisible, but unfortunately they are only found in 4mm and larger scales.

 

Next Bradfield Gloucester Square, in fine-scale ‘OO’.  Excellent dirty and careworn scenery with a sort of ‘Minories plus’ layout and some attractive complex trackwork.

 

I’ve seen Addison Park, 3mm finescale (14.2mm gauge) before, but it’s always worth another look, as London Transport layouts are far from common.  And I love the trolleybuses with full overhead wires.

 

So to Courtmacsherry (4mm scale, 21mm gauge), a slice of southern Ireland.  The layout notice sums it up better than I can put it….

A delightful model, even without the strange light railway stock.  I understand that the model is exact scale in its length, and the path of the railway can easily be traced today.

Fawley shows the line to the refinery when it was a light railway taken over by the Southern Railway, rather than the major industrial branch line of layer days.  Shunting was being carried out by an Adams ‘Jubilee’ 0-4-2 locomotive, not as well known, but longer lived, than the LBSCR ‘Gladstone’ class of the same wheel arrangement.

 

Bosun’s Wharf, in OO had some excellent ship modelling, and some interesting cameos – spot the stretcher case being carried to the ambulance!

One of my favourites – Littleton in ‘O’, with Southern Region electrics to the fore.

 

Brixcombe, in P4, was, in one way, the classic GWR branch line.  However, this is not the typical GWR branch – maroon coaches, and open cabbed, brass domed pannier tanks.  Have to say this is more interesting than the usual stereotype….

 

Redbridge Wharf, in ‘OO’ is a model of the coastal industrial area of this corner of Hampshire.

 

More layouts to follow next time….

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Wordless Wednesday

Posted on January 23, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

No inspiration today – my brain resembles this incident on the Chicago elevated – or perhaps it is just an ESNG running night?

Nice bit of Health and Safety, though, especially the hard hat….

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It’s shunting, Jim, but not as we know it….

Posted on January 21, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

With apologies to Star Trek!

This video, hi-jacked from the 2mm Association site, is just one incredible bit of model making.  And I’m not (for once) talking about the fine scale.  Shunting using a tractor – whatever next – working horses!!!!?!!!!

Shunting Tractor at Yeovil Town.
For many years, Laurie Adams has been constructing a model of Yeovil Town. Some of the sidings are impractical and off-limits for locomotives, and shunting was undertaken by a modified tractor. So, never short of wanting a challenge, Laurie set out to make a tractor work to perform the shunting operations.
The video below is about 20 minutes long and explains the construction and shows the operation of this amazing vehicle.

It would be very easy to get depressed by this level of skill, and take up knitting (apart from the fact that I’d be no good at it).  So I’m impressed and inspired.  Hope you are too?

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B**x** free zone!

Posted on January 17, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

Just to show that things could be worse, this man in Austria seems to have a steady job.  It may take some time to get the trains running, though.  Are you there, Ron?

Is this the world’s most dangerous commute – worse than Southern, even?

Manila’s ‘trolley boys’
One way to travel in the Philippine capital, Manila, is by trolley. Passengers choose this unofficial transport service because it’s quicker and cheaper than other options. For the homeless community that runs the illegal service, it puts food on the table. But it’s also incredibly dangerous.

And one of the neatest switching layouts around.

 

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ESNG PlayDay – 13 January 2019

Posted on January 15, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

Eight of us made it to Sunday’s PlayDay.  After the usual curry lunch, we resisted the temptation of an afternoon nap, and put the layout together.  It was a bit smaller than recent meetings, as Paul couldn’t bring his Kato modules along, but there was still plenty of room for trains to stretch their legs.

Simon’s Santa Fe reefer train….

Is overtaken by Brian’s Spanish PW train…..

Dave’s station model continues to impress, with the church now in place….

       

Japanese rolling stock waits in the fiddle yard….

Before being added to Paul’s loooong goods train.  The curry seems to have beaten Derek and Allan!

And I got around to testing my second-hand 4-CEP.  Ran like a watch!

And some video from Brian…..

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Bognor Regis MRC show 2019

Posted on January 13, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

Derek & I paid a visit to the Bognor show this morning.  It’s a pretty drive down to the south coast, and far more pleasant than battling up to Stevenage.  The Bognor show might not have been as good, but it was half the price to get in – and the bacon rolls didn’t run out like the last time I went to Stevenage.

One interesting (or maybe depressing) observation was the price of second hand items from the traders.  The prices seemed so high – in some cases an extra £5 would have bought a new item.  But on to the layouts….

Coleford in oo9 and based on a real Forest of Dean line featured some very nice trackwork, mainly cut-and-shut from Peco narrow gauge track.  I liked the man pushing his van out of the station yard.

Glasgow Emerald was interesting as that rarity, a British ‘HO’ scale layout.  An interesting twin level design in the blue diesel era.

   

Deansmoor is based on a ply-faced door and models the Stockport area.  I liked the most realistic (and tensioned) overhead wiring.

 

Oakley Green is based on some corner of the Southern Region in the 1970’s.

Lemmingon Park offers ‘HO’ American switching.  With a name like that, it’s a wonder that the trains didn’t keep driving off the end of the layout onto the floor….

A lovely model of the Hastings Tramways….

 

The preservation scene at Oakley.

1930’s summer by the sea in 3mm scale – Exebridge.

   

Finally, Richard Hance’s little layout sailing under a false flag.  Don’t ask…..

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Odds and s**s

Posted on January 11, 2019 by snitchthebudgie

I’ve found the modelling mojo on the low side recently – a mixture of Christmas busy-ness, cold weather, and too much NGSE exhibition planning I guess.  However, I hope to have some workbench pictures to show soon – I’ve been working on some of my old Lehigh Valley stock.  But more of that another time.

For now, just be grateful that our hobby is mostly constructive…..

And unusual prototype of the week.  Twi Canadian snowploughs for an interurban railroad, The Toronto & York, one being double ended.

I’m fascinated by the trolley poles. I suspect they were required to activate signals. But they could also be there to power an onboard air compressor to lift the flanger blades at crossings. On a non-electric line, that air is supplied by a locomotive – which would also supply propulsion. But this is an electric line, so maybe they took advantage of that? Fortunately, one doesn’t need to know the answer to model The Electric Snowplow and have a wicked conversation piece.

 

I recall that Pacific Electric/Southern Pacific did something similar with diesel switchers, another interesting model!

 

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