You are making great progress Jeff.
Getting down to the nuts and bolts of railway modeling.
Have a great New Year.

Derek.

Thanks Derek. Wishing the same to you too. :cool:

I may spend New Years Eve at a friend's place. He has Exeter Central in OO scale under his house, so we can amuse ourselves between fireworks displays - his house is on the side of a hill and has views all around Port Phillip Bay and across the city of Melbourne, so we can see multiple fireworks displays, albeit at a distance.

Going back to the class 92, I have taken a little bit of video footage to show just how smooth and quiet it is with the more modern chassis in it. This is the lowest quality clip to keep the file size down a bit, so is a little grainy. My faithful companion, Toby, wanted attention while I was videoing as well - I left the little squeak in! Next, I'll consider getting sound for it! Both Howes and Legomanbiffo (through DC Kits) offer class 92 sounds, and from the YouTube clips, both sound good. I'll have to see if I can find an 8-pin LokSound to have reblown.

Note also I have experimentally rearranged the walls to fit the signal box in down at track level. What does everyone think?



As usual, apologies for the shaky camera work.

We had our first postal delivery since Christmas Eve today (Monday), and look what the postie delivered! My Bratchell class 319/1 kit in Network South East livery! I pre-ordered this kit back in May and got the special advanced order price, which saved me over £50.

The body shells go together very quickly and easily, so I have glazed and assembled all of them already and slipped the motorised chassis into the PMS coach (that's Pantograph Motor Second!). I still need to remove the moulded on footboards but I'll leave that until I am ready to adjust the height it sits at.

Now here's a question: does anyone have a good photograph of a 319 pantograph well (319/0 or 319/1 will do), please? I will need to recreate the insulator and bus bar runs as well as mount the panto in the right place.

Here are a couple of photos of the first bit of my progress.

Hi Jeff,

Take a look here, http://www.porterbrook.com/downloads/brochures/319%20Brochure.pdf  On page 8, there is a silhouette of the pantograph if that helps !

Cheers, Gary.

Thanks for the link, Gary. I have saved the brochure for other detailing but it still doesn't show the pantograph well, the equipment and electrical lines within, or even the pantograph mounting, which are all details I don't currently have (pun not intended!). I do have the correct pantograph itself.

I have copied pictures from the SEMG site which show the various underfloor arrangements for each type of coach in the set but none show the pantograph from above.

I have started on the motor bogie sideframe modifications on the class 319 to suit the Replica Railways motorised chassis. Because there is a 1mm difference between the motor bogie wheelbase on the chassis compared to the kit sideframes (accurately modelled), I have removed approximately 0.5mm from the sideframes on either side of the central airbag and spring plank.

I file down the Replica blank sideframes to match the profile of the kit versions then glue the lot together with solvent. The Replica frames support the kit ones so there is no problem with weak joints.

Photo 1 shows the first one with the ends of the sideframes glued in place, lined up carefully to the correct axle centres. The centre section could then be trimmed carefully to fit neatly between the outer bits.



Photo 2 shows the first frame done and the second one in bits with the Replica frame behind partially filed down.

Another, much older, project was the 2 HAL I started and had running some time back. Up until now it hasn't had any markings or insignia on it at all. I have now added the first class yellow stripes above the relevant windows and numeral 1s on the doors, plus small yellow warning panels on the cab fronts.

I will have to hand paint some of the fiddly bits on those front yellow panels before adding the black triangle on the one at the van end (the driving motor coach). The coach and unit numbers in yellow will follow and later, I will add the first class and no smoking stickers on the relevant windows.

Work on constructing the Bratchell class 319 continues: I have now assembled all of the bogies as per the instructions and installed them under the correct coaches.

I drilled out the head and tail light apertures on the Driving Trailer coaches and tacked some red and white LEDs into them. These will be made to work later. I will have to touch up the WIPAC panels as they chipped slightly during the drilling process.

I posed the four car unit on the layout for one photo, although it has no undergear at this stage. I will also have to install weights into each coach and I am not entirely sure I have posed it in the correct formation: the Pantograph Motor Second car (PMS) and Auxilliary Trailer Second (ATS) are correctly formed and oriented but the Driving Trailer Second (DTS) and Driving Trailer Composite (DTC) may possibly be at the wrong ends of the unit. I'll check this when I am ready to assemble the full unit for real. Note also that the ride height of the PMS car is wrong, and will remain so until I trim off those footboards on the Replica chassis.

Thanks for the video Jeff,
Your trains are running well.
Toby sounds in good form demanding attention.
My lady is recovering from major dental work and she is very bad tempered when it comes to giving her medicine.
All claws but not many teeth.
regards,
Derek.

Toby loves it when I work on (or play with!) the trains. He's still a relative youngster, heading for six years old. Teeth do become a problem when they get older … just like we humans, when you think about it!



Continuing the workbench saga, I seem to be splashing yellow paint (or transfers) everywhere at the moment! I have been adding yellow panels and first class stripes to Hornby BR(S) green 2 BILs, my 'Tin' 2 HAL, plus, while I had the yellow out on the brush, the ends of the jumper cables and lamp irons on my previously untouched Heljan 'Dutch' class 33/1. 33 108.

For the 2 BIL and 2 HAL first class stripes I have been using ModelMaster yellow stripe transfers, but for the BIL corridor sides I have taken to hand-painting them as the transfers are too fiddly to cut around the corridor windows. Similarly, I have used the ModelMaster yellow warning panels but have to hand-paint a few fiddly bits around the jumper receptacles, particularly on the HAL.

Unfortunately, I have run out of proper warning panel yellow paint and I am unlikely to be able to get any more in the foreseeable future, so I am using Humbrol gloss yellow #69, which is a little paler in shade - rather like a faded BR yellow. I can add a hint of orange to the final coats.

The Heljan class 33/1s have black plastic lamp irons and jumper cables/receptacles which are good mouldings but need a little bit of paint to bring them to life and make them more convincing. While I had the yellow paint out, I put the little extra touches of yellow on the cables on 33 108, having previously done the BR blue D 6520 some considerable time ago.

Here is a pic of the progress on the 2 BIL and the 33/1 - the 33 looks a little 'fat' because of lens distortion.The BIL started off as the Hornby model of unit 2134, which was a duplicate of one I already had (this one came from one of Themodeller.com's regular sales and was at a very good price). Doing a little digging for green full yellow end 2 BILs from this later production batch revealed that possible unit numbers could be 2137, 2141 or 2147 (for DCC purposes I had referred to it as unit 2135 temporarily). I have still to retouch the jumper cables in dirty black, after one more coat of yellow (this was the second coat in the pic).

I am now able to run combinations of three 2 BILs (2134, 2135, NRM 2090) and the 'Tin' HAL 2694. I intend to add one of the blue BILs when they come from Hornby (I was considering repainting this one until their announcement) plus one or two of the forthcoming Hornby 2 HAL units.

The Hornby BIL has now had the final coat of yellow on its ends, this time with a hint of orange added to closely match BR's warning panel yellow shade. My initial attempt failed as I mixed too much orange in! I started again with the paint mixing before I was happy enough with it to actually apply it to the model.



I have also applied a wash of the new Humbrol weathering washes grey to the roofs.

Next, I have to retouch the jumper cables and add unit numbers, plus amen the coach numbers.

Jumper cables painted black, unit numbers and black triangle added to the Hornby 2 BIL. It is now unit 2147 but I haven't corrected the coach numbers to match, yet.

Back in April 2012 (see page 4 of this topic) I started building a Bratchell Models class 455/8 unit, number 455 835 - from the first batch with the really ugly front end! Most of the build has been covered in my layout thread in the main forums but it really belongs here on the workbench blog. The unit has actually been running on the layout for some time.

I started the handrails on the leading DTS car using handrail knobs but this looked much too coarse when compared to photos of the real things. On the trailing DTS, I used shaped wire handrails with an intermediate support made from plastic rod, and this looked much better. I have now revised the leading car to match. By way of explanation, even though it is an EMU, for DCC purposes I need to designate a front and rear for the train, so the number 1, or leading, car is the one immediately ahead of the MS car with the Replica motorised chassis installed. The trailing, or number 4 car is the one behind the TS car, which itself is also behind the MS car. Formation is DTS(#1)+MS+TS+DTS(#4).

In the meantime, I had fitted the jumper cables and receptacles (adapted from Blacksmith Models EPB jumpers) to the leading DTS but not the trailing one. That also has now been updated to match.

Turned brass horns were fitted over each cab.
 
DTS #1 has some seats installed but none of the other coaches has an interior fitted yet.

Looking good Jeff,
All that detail work really enhances your loco,s and rolling stock.
regards,
Derek.

I wasn't entirely satisfied with the way the headcodes looked on my Dapol Western. You may recall that I mounted some Heljan class 53 headcodes inside the Dapol headcode boxes but the font is not right on those.

I have now redone the headcodes, using Heljan headcodes supplied with their Western diesels. These were mounted on bits of 20 thou plasticard, approximately 17mm x 6mm which were then stuck inside the headcode boxes using a little Black-Tack (actually Homelux Bath Seal). The font typeface and size are both better than the class 53 ones but don't suit the size of the internal aperture quite so well.

While I had the headcode light boxes out of the locomotive, I polished the outer 'glass' faces a little with some T-cut, to remove the sprayed on weathering (mine is a Kernow special).

I'm still not entirely convinced by the end result but I still prefer it to externally stuck-on bits of paper or vinyl.

Also visible in the background is the lit up signal box, now with an extra resistor in series with the first, and a light coat of Humbrol primrose over the plasticard light baffle (which actually seems to have produced a slight greenish tinge).

Further to yesterday's entry, I have now fiddled with the CV settings on the Dapol/Kernow Western, with a view to dimming the excessively bright lighting in both headcode panels and cabs.

I downloaded the full manual from TCS's website and eventually deciphered it to work out what changes were necessary to the CVs in the EU621 decoder fitted to D1030 Western Musketeer. I set the following values, using the TCS Constant Dim level 2 setting):

CV49 (forward direction headcode/headlights, forward direction only) to 66
CV50 (reverse direction headcode/headlights, reverse direction only) to 82

… and the following values, using the TCS Constant Dim level 1 setting):

CV51 (cab light, no2 or B end, both directions) to 44
CV52 (cab light, no1 or A end, both directions) to 44

The lights are now much more acceptable to me, and there is less obvious light bleeding around the headcode panels. Compare these two photos to the previous entry.

I have recorded and edited no less than seven new videos today. They all come with my trademark dodgy camera work!! 





There are still a couple of (relatively) recent additions/reblows I haven't recorded yet, but these should be enough to go on for the time being.

From legomanbiffo, I have added reblows to a Hornby class 08 and a Bachmann class 25. The latter has also undergone a transformation from blue 25 279 to green D7638, by the simple expedient of swapping bodies! I also had a class 205 2/3H decoder reblown to legomanbiffo's new MPV sounds, having bought a replacement with his sounds on for the 205 from DC Kits earlier.

Also new was a class 42 Warship and a Bulleid Q1 0-6-0 from Howes and reblows included class 92 sounds over the class 53 sounds previously bought from Howes (the sounds were fine but I thought they were just too similar to the Western sounds - same engines but diesel electric instead of diesel hydraulic). The Q1 has the decoder and standard round speaker in its tender, which had to have all the Hornby weight blocks stripped out and some lead pellets added under a load f real coal to compensate.

I wanted sound for my Bratchell class 319/1 s well and, while no one actually offers a 319 sound project, legomanbiffo's class 321 is as close as I'm likely to get for the time being. I had a 21-pin decoder spare but the Replica Railways motorised chassis has an 8-pin socket. I have two Hornby Sapphire decoders in service and both did not require the 8-to-21 pin adaptors, so I utilised one of those to use the 21-pin decoder in the 319. It was a little loose so I added some black-tack to hold it firmly in place. The unit runs fine here but the trailers do still require a little more weight to be added for reliability.

The Bachmann class 25/legomanbiffo




The Hornby class 08/legomanbiffo




The Bachmann MPV/legomanbiffo




The Bachmann Warship/Howes




The Hornby Q1/Howes:




The Bratchell class 319/legomanbiffo 321




And the oddball - the Heljan class 53 with class 92 electric sounds. I know it's a bit incongruous!!

Recently on the workbench were two pristine Corgi Trackside Ruston industrial machines, a crane and a back shovel. They are not pristine any more!!! I have weathered them both down a bit. There may be a few more touches to do but overall I think they are coming up well and don't look too glossy and toy-like. See what you think. :)

Another project started and a little further progress on existing projects: I have started on the first of two Cambrian Kits Sturgeon A wagons, their kit C82 (the ones with the side doors still in place). Progress will be slow because each wagon has seven doors per side, with two handrails, two door springs and two door bangers per door! Thats 28 of each item per wagon!.






Work is also continuing slowly on finishing the buses and coaches. The green Little Bus Company Hants & Dorset Bristol MW/ECW now has the main painting completed and windscreens fitted. It is also shown with the red Wilts & Dorset one I completed a couple of years ago.






At this rate, it might take a little while but I'll have a whole heap of models all completed at the same time.

Putting the sides together for the sturgeon A wagon. Each side is made up from four pieces (three double doors and one single), which are supposed to go together in a particular order (marked with tine pips on each part). I put these together using a steel rule to keep them straight.

Next, I have started adding the handrails. I have done 14 (not yet glued in) with another 14 to go for this wagon, and another 28 to do for the second wagon! Also in the photo is the bending jig I used, using the 7mm setting to bend all of these, although the Cambrian instructions also include a template intended for a piece of wood and some pins.




After this, there are 28 door springs and 28 door bangers to add to each wagon, again, 14 per side.