Another quart in a pint pot!

Petermac said

I posted somewhere about the weathering Terry but obviously not here !!!  No idea where it went but the weathering looks just spot on - not too heavy but "used".  I too like the puddle on the wagon sheet - what is it ?

From “Post #291,607”, 26th February 2025, 10:00 pm

Thanks Peter.  I tried to create the puddle by painting thin layers of gloss varnish.  Unfortunately, the varnish took on a cloudy appearance and was not the finish I was looking for.  I successfully used this method previously on a similar wagon for my Farleigh layout.  Picture follows..


As you can see, the process worked quite well in this case.  As regards the wagon currently under discussion, I resorted to painting over the varnish with a coat of Humbrol gloss black paint, the tintlet having been in my possession since the Anglo-Saxons arrived in England following the Roman departure!  It appears to have worked quite well especially when the wagon is parked against the rear buildings on the layout where it reflects the white window frames quite effectively.

Terry

London Road Sidings is appearing at the East Grinstead Model Railway Exhibition this coming weekend, Sat 15th & Sun 16th March, at Sackville School, Lewes Road, East Grinstead, West Sussex, RH19 3TY
Sat 10-5 Sun 10-4,  Adults £7, Concessions, over 60's £5. Free parking, Wheelchair access. Layouts in various gauges. Trade stands. Refreshments.

I hope to see you there.

Terry
 

Good luck this weekend Terry.  I think you're competing with Ally Pally ………………………..

Thank you Peter.

London Road Sidings performed well today at the East Grinstead Model Railway Club Exhibition. Only one problem occurred in that, once again, the hand-held unit for the Morley Controller failed for the second time. Bought about a year ago, little used and failed after nine months during an exhibition in January. Returned to Morley Controllers for repair. Returned to me with no explanation as to the cause of the problem (in fact, no correspondence at all). It performed well at the recent Tenterden Exhibition but failed again today. The problem appears to be that locomotives suddenly get a surge of power and race away out of control. Fortunately I had a spare hand-held unit which was pressed into service.  I am at a loss at to what the exact problem is. Investigation has shown that the three soldered contacts inside are not shorting with each other and there is not a break in the cable from the power source. I am not very impressed that this Morley Controllers' hand-held unit has proved to be unreliable for exhibition use.

Last day of the show tomorrow (Sunday).

Terry

Surprising Terry, from what I've read I thought Morley Controllers were one of the best, although I've never used them myself.


Ed

Yes, me too.  It seems, like everything else, they don't always live up to their reputation …………………..

The second day of the East Grinstead show went off well. The only slight problem was that, for some reason, the two rails either side of the isolation gap on the fiddlestick, decided to slide together. I couldn't understand why the loco at the end of the fiddlestick moved when the switch was in the off position. Quickly sorted by borrowing a pair of pliers and sliding one of the rails away from the other. I must glue a small slither of styrene in the gap, and file it to the rail profile, to prevent this from happening again. I took this precaution on the two isolated sections on the scenic board but obviously overlooked it when adding the isolated section to the fiddlestick.

Next exhibition is in April at Ashford, Kent.

Terry

I have excperienced a similar event myself Terry but it took me days to find the problem.  Such a silly little simple thing that we don't think about such faults until we've almost dismantled the layout trying to find the cause ………………..

Did it result in any damage to either stock or layout ?

Hello Peter.  No damage and quickly sorted.  I have since carried out the small modification as mentioned above.  All ready for the Ashford Festival of Model Railways at Ashford College on 12th/13th April.

Terry

Hi Terry,

Rather than use styrene use 2 part epoxy (5 minutes). As it sets it can be profiled to the rail . The real fix is to use a couple of copper clad sleeper screwed to the frame to which the rails are soldered.

Nigel

BCDR said

Hi Terry,

Rather than use styrene use 2 part epoxy (5 minutes). As it sets it can be profiled to the rail . The real fix is to use a couple of copper clad sleeper screwed to the frame to which the rails are soldered.

Nigel

From “Post #291,887”, 27th March 2025, 3:46 pm

Useful to know.  Thanks Nigel

The latest item of rolling stock to arrive at London Road Sidings is this Bachmann Conflat A with A type container. I try to give each wagon some individuality, and in this case I have added the securing chains to the corners of the container. I have not often seen this feature on 4mm scale wagons and now I know why. Fiddly in the extreme and not to be repeated. The chains are a mixture of etches and wire, liberally coated with superglue to keep them looking fairly straight.

Terry

Well done Terry, I wouldn't even attempt it with my magnifier  

Thanks Ed.

London Road Sidings will be appearing at The Ashford Festival Of Model Railways, at Ashford, Kent, on 12th/13th April.  I will be on Stand 29 at Ashford College.  Pleas stop by to say hello.  Link here:

AFRM 2025 & TICKETS

Terry

col.stephens said

The latest item of rolling stock to arrive at London Road Sidings is this Bachmann Conflat A with A type container. I try to give each wagon some individuality, and in this case I have added the securing chains to the corners of the container. I have not often seen this feature on 4mm scale wagons and now I know why. Fiddly in the extreme and not to be repeated. The chains are a mixture of etches and wire, liberally coated with superglue to keep them looking fairly straight.

Terry

From “Post #291,896”, 29th March 2025, 8:37 am

very fiddly by the look of it Terry, but well worth the effort !   Good luck with the show and as always, some pictures if you get a chance ( I know you will be busy !! but we like to see whats happening in the hobby in other parts of the country  


Cheers


Matt

Thanks Matt.  Only just caught your post, after the event, so to speak.

London Road Sidings performed well over the weekend at Ashford, with one exception.  Yet again another Morley Controllers' hand-held unit failed. I have a Gaugemaster controller with a 'W' hand-held unit which I shall use in future.  I intend to buy another 'W' hand-held unit as back-up, in case of failure, but I will need to obtain another controller to act as back-up in the event of the Gaugemaster failing during an exhibition.  The lesson learned from exhibiting is that you should have to hand replacements for everything connected with the layout.

Terry

Are your Morley controllers long in the tooth Terry ?  I always understood they were the bee's knees but apparently not …………………………