A New Year

I am sure as you get older the time goes quicker. I can't believe it has been five weeks since the last post. Well it was last year.
I haven't done anything worth writing about down the shed at the moment, working instead on another project inside that is absorbing a lot of modelling time. Nearly two thirds the way through so hope to resume residence down the shed soon.
It certainly has been a time of announcements of late. All the past years of promised models are now starting to show up. Yesterday when I was out a "we've got a parcel at the local post office" card was left at the front door. Couldn't think of what it was as I didn't remember ordering anything off the net or anywhere else. As soon as the parcel was handed over I saw the Auscision stamp on the back and worked out it was the 45 class. It shared the carry bag with two litres of milk on the way back home.
It was a strange feeling when I got home. I knew what was in the parcel, I knew what a 45 class looked like but was not fussed to rush it out of the bag and start drooling over it. Reading some of the modelling forums comments tonight you can sense that 'don't care anymore' attitude creeping in. Dinner was cooked and it stayed in the box until this afternoon when I finally went to shed to view it.
December saw the 48's delivered, January the 45's and hopefully in February the 46's. Thank goodness I am not a modern image modeller as the Auscision NR's and SDS's 81 classes have been announced. I only wish that Auscision would have made the decision to make their locos with sound much earlier, just as Ron does with his models.

I opened the lid - easy. Then the model is surrounded in a plastic cocoon that didn't want to release its inner prize. I could see it but couldn't get the bloody outer sleeve off. I was certain that if I pulled too hard, it would suddenly release, come out like a bullet, land on the floor and that would be the end of it. I even thought of getting the hobby knife out, showing it who's boss and slicing it down the middle. But a bit more persistence I managed to extract it to the next stage. Wow after all that pulling, shoving and pushing I could only hear two loose items in the box. Peering through the sides I could see the front coupler had broken in half and a box from the side had dislodged. At least the driver was stuck firmly in his seat and doing the job he was glued in for. 
The layout hasn't operated for quite a few months and one of the problems with that is the amount of spiders that have decided to cast their webs all around the layout. Sounds like a good time to invest in a few cans of Mortein. One of the downsides of webs over the line is getting them all over the locos as they move around on the first run. It wasn't until I got todays photos onto the widescreen monitor that you can see some webs over the front of the loco. I couldn't be bothered to redo them nor Photoshop them out so they are there if you look hard enough.
So for todays trial for the 45 she did a ballast trip as a single loco load, then went up to the Bodalla mine and then lashed up with the two recent purchases  4817 and 4819 for a triple header run. The locos will stay in their virgin paint scheme until I can arrange to get them weathered.
Anyhow here are todays photos:

On the way to Candelo to do a mine trip.

 4501 did a trip up to the mine as part of the testing and getting the crews familiar with the units.

Later on (it was a busy day) 4501 teamed up with 4819 and 4817 for a triple header run with a coal train.

Well I can predict the next update to this blog will probably feature the 46 class. It is going to be an interesting era with all the modellers beckoning for more and more details on their equipment and then watch them operating their electric overhead models without any overhead wires - magic.
I was cleaning the track today at Candelo and then wondering how I was going to do it when that space between the track and the overhead wiring is seemingly so small. Well we will have to wait and see.