Delays

I’d promised the final part in the series “Operations on a Maintenance Centre Layout”, how to put the ops system in play, by the end of November. And then I got COVID-19. 

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Work in progress

Despite being double vaccinated, I still managed to catch this damned virus. And it has not been fun. So far, I’ve spent a week in home isolation, not really able to talk, coughing most of the time. After a week of that, I hurt everywhere. Every muscle involved in coughing is telling me to stop. Today, for the first time, I’m finally able to talk, quietly, and not cough. So there is some improvement. But I’m a ways from being out of this.

The final post, “Operations on a Maintenance Centre Layout (Part 7 – Op till you Drop)” will probably not reach your notice until Christmas at this stage. I apologise, however, the tank is empty and I’m just trying to get through the day.

Here’s hoping that you and your families are all well. So far, no one else at my home has caught the virus. For which I am very grateful. I hope that remains true for you as well.

All the best and I hope you’ll look forward to “Operations on a Maintenance Centre Layout (Part 7 – Op till you Drop)” in a couple of weeks.

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Staying in Contact

Interested in keeping in touch or discussing posts, pages and ideas?  You can do that in several ways by:

• • • Commenting on this post (I read and answer each one)
    • Sending me a note using our About page (email)
    • Connecting with us on Facebook at Andrew’s Trains

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Workshop Report – June 2021

Getting old sucks. In some aspects, it’s truly great in that you have perspective (time on the planet) to measure against. My eyesight is not enjoying its perspective. However, today my workspace has seen the light…

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What’s new

Modelling later in the evening, when the space is quiet, and others are in bed and I can lose myself in the moment, is my favourite and most productive time. Of late, I have not been able to work past sunset. My original light, a sunlight fluorescent lamp, just wasn’t up to helping me see.

Thanks to the IKEA Tertial Work Lamp and their RYET (4000K) LED lamps, I now have a very well lit, energy-efficient space and better lighting for photography to boot. Here is the before and after shot showing the (very messy) space. Note that both images are untouched, exactly as they came from my phone camera.

Before

After:

The work lamp was only A$14.95, and the LED globes only A$8.00 a pair. Frugal as always, and yet a great outcome. So no more tired eyes for me and more modelling time after dark. That’s a major win.

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Work in progress

There’s not been much in-progress work of late. That will change now that I can see. I have plans to complete the O Gauge Shunter locomotive over the next week or two, prepping her for final paint, and finishing. Then it is on to more locomotive projects including the:

• 1/4″ O Gauge GP38-2 projects ( 2 x Weaver 2 Rail Units mentioned here on my modelling site)
• 1/4″ O Guage EMD  F9 (2 x Atlas by Roco 2 Rail units from the 1970s) mentioned here on my modelling site

HO scale sees:

• 2 Bachmann 70 Tonners (DCC but no sound) that need to be repainted, numbered and lettered for use,
• some more freight car projects including more work on the Australian freight wagons that I’ve started but not yet finished, and I’m sure there’s more, but I’ve lost the plot for now and I’ll close out here.

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Completed

Nothing to report for June 2021

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Resources

• IKEA (AU) Tertial Work Light (Blue)
• IKEA (AU) RYET LED bulb E27 806 lumen (2 Pack)

Staying in Contact

Interested in keeping in touch or discussing posts, pages and ideas?  You can do that in a couple of ways:

• Drop me a line using the form on our About page here at the site
• Connect with us on the Andrew’s Trains page on Facebook

Evans Hollow layout hits a milestone (been a long time coming)

The Evans Industrial shelfie layout has hit a major milestone! Read on…

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A quick heads-up for those of you following along with the slow build of this layout. We’ve hit a major milestone, with the completion of the wiring of the layout underside. No track down at this stage, but that is coming in the next day or so, and aiming to be at the testing stage during the Mothers Day weekend.

(That’s the second week in May if you need reminding like me!)

I’ve completed the wiring to my wiring standards. You can download a copy from this site, just head down to the resources section at the bottom of the page.

Just a couple of notes for those of you wondering:

• Yes, I love wiring and electrics
• Yes, the wiring is designed as a modular unit, to facilitate troubleshooting and replacement as necessary over the years
• Yes, the wiring is extensible, in that this layout will be able to join up with other small layouts  being planned in the future for this series
• Yes, I had a lot of fun, and a little frustration – more on that in the article that I’ll be publishing in the next week or so – plus there’ll be a video too that I’m working on for the remainder of my vacation – I go back to work Sunday.

Hope that you have been able to get out and also do some modelling, and thanks for continuing to follow along with me. Stay well, stay safe, and stay modelling.

Regards Andrew

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Resources

• Wiring standards PDF download

Staying in Contact

Interested in keeping in touch or discussing posts, pages and ideas?  You can do that in several ways:

• Drop me a line using the form on our About page here at the site
• Connect with us on the Andrew’s Trains page on Facebook

The ‘…and we’re back…’ update – December 14, 2019

Evening all;

At least here in Melbourne it’s a very late evening. What a saga getting the internet back on has been. So much for a few days. It took in all 14 days to move a service into (as Optus said) somewhere that has already been connected to the NBN.

A screw up at the get go, with Optus’ overseas helpdesk, saw them move our service to some random location in Ballarat, instead of into our new home in Melbourne. That took three days to sort out. Then NBN noticed that they could not see the terminating unit. In fact the original installers had not completed the job. Done the absolute minimum and not completed running the lead-in cable from the cable head in the pit a couple of doors down. The poor bloke they sent out (alone) to do the job was about pulling his hair out. So I stepped in and gave him a hand to run the cable in the street and get us up and going; almost.

Then Optus screwed up again, and no internet for another 48 hours until late this week. We are still in the midst of unpacking and setting up. The layout is still in its moving state and standing on end in the garage. Hoping to do a little more work tomorrow on one of my days off to carve out a space in that area for the layout and a worktable. There’s good northerly natural light in there.

More for you soon on the layout build with updated posts and pages as I create the new section from the original posts. Wiring is next. Lots of photos and a video to boot showing how I wire, as an old telephone tech, by comparison to some who’ve not the background I do. Hopefully some more on Tuesday to read. I have to get my son working on the video part.

Then I’ve got 9 days straight through until Christmas day to work. Oh the life of a tram driver. All the best and talk with you soon.

FInally; don’t forget the survey is still on. Drop by the link from the main page and take the survey to help me understand what it is that you are looking for.

Site Update – RailBox XAF10 Modelling pages updated

The modelling article on the RailBox XAF10 class cars have been updated. There is new content and the third step of the rebuild article promised some time ago. There’s more information below.

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What’s happened

My last update on this project covered the addition of a short history of the class. This time we’re getting into the meat of the project.

This new page covers the dangly bits between the frame and the rails – brake rigging. This is a task focused modelling article on how to simulate the brake rigging on the model without going over the top. Thanks go out to Tony Thompson whose original post on his blog got me started on this particularly enjoyable journey. (There’s a link from the new page to Tony’s original blog post.)

Throughout the series I’ll be aiming to complete the entire project section within an hour (between getting home and dinner for example) and at the end of it have a model that you can be proud of. Here’s what I mean using before and after photos:

Image 1: The basic Athearn BB kit sans brake rigging

Image 2: Same kit (undec) with brake rigging – a subtle difference but well worth the effort

You can head direct to the page by clicking this link, or head over to the project home page clicking this link. I hope that you enjoy this new part of the project. Like, subscribe and follow to keep up to date with all the new content here on Andrew’s Trains.

Site update – January 21 – No you don’t need an optometrist visit

In my last post the photos that I uploaded seemed to behave poorly once uploaded through WP.

An overall view of the module

I’ve reworked them all in Paint.NET and uploaded a new set.

I’ve just checked the newer versions and these appear to be better. Sorry for any inconvenience, or for any unnecessary trips to the optometrist.

Andrew

Site Update – March 16 – Ballarat Tramways Gallery

I’ve begun uploading images to the Ballarat tramway page, spurred on by working as an assistant conductor this weekend.

Zip over to the page to take a look at the growing gallery.

Like this post and comment if you find it useful or would like further information; if you’ve not already subscribed to keep up to date you can do so now using the link at the top of the post.

Operations section added to the blog

I opened a new Operations section to the blog today. This is from an old site and has been moved and updated to reflect changes made in the last 4 years.

You can get to the section from the main header – look under the Yard Office and then choose operations.

Regards

Andrew