The Last Post (for this year!)

Well the photo says it all, I hope you all have a great Christmas and Santa brings you plenty of train related products.
Progress has been good over 2017. The bridge in the above photo was completed and scenicked around it. All the baseboards that will be portable have been constructed and track laid on them.
The track will eventually meet up with some of the old HO baseboards still remaining. This will speed up construction as all I need to do is remove the HO track and replace it with the On30 track on the same roadbed. Then the scenery will need to be 'upscaled' to look more to scale.
I will make a start on the Thomson River bridge early next year. This will be a major build and many of the parts have been collected already. Sadly "The Railcar" guys have decided to retire and a source for many bits and pieces has now gone.

When more track is laid I might be able to finally have some operation on South Coast Rail. Together with radio control throttles so you can walk around with the train. This adds to the beauty of this scale.
So if you are wondering what your New Years resolution might be, try considering moving over to On30 modelling and in particular modelling the Victorian Narrow gauge. The more I have researched those four lines the more interesting it becomes. It involves more work than just being an HO/N plonker but the satisfaction of your finished result far outweighs the effort to get there.
See you all next year 2018!

Return to Eden

Well can't believe it is already December another year just about gone and four weeks since my last update. Time flies when you are having fun.
I received my copy of 'Speed Limit Twenty Plus' during the week. This book is a re-write of the original 'Speed Limit Twenty' book published way back in 1963. The updated book contains around 164 pages compared with the original 132.

There are corrections to previous errors I believe. Also there are updates towards the back of the book such as an article on the Walhalla Goldfields Railway which happened long after the original book was published. It is certainly a worthwhile addition to the collection. I will leave the proper reviewing to someone else that has had the chance to go right through the book.
I was also able to get a copy of G42 Puffing Billys Big Brother at a sale day held by the Epping Model railway club last Saturday. A friend (thank you John) told me there was a book on garratts in one of the rooms on a sellers table. I thought it could have been about the 60 class garratts which I had recently sold. When he directed me to the table it was under some other books. When I saw it was the G42 one I quickly bought it. The young kid selling it said $20 or make me an offer. When I was deliberating whether to get the one I saw on Ebay for $50 plus postage, I was over the moon when this one came up. This book now fills a hole in my Victorian narrow gauge collection of books and reference material.

I have been able to get some work done on the layout lately. I really suffer from the "I've got hundred of jobs to do to get this layout finished" when entering the shed then spend wasted time trying to work out what one I will do. Maybe I should write them all down, cut up the list and put them into hat and just go with the first one I pull out!
The six Ian Lindsay models buffer stops have been painted and weathered and glued into position. Some were on a precarious position on the end of Eden baseboard. Not the place shunt and forget to stop. Straight to the floor. I have joined the Facebook On30 modellers forum whic although is US biased there is still much good information and ideas to be gotten from the site. When someone asked what do modellers use for buffer stops i put up a picture of my Victorian narrow gauge ones, just to show the variety of ways of protecting the end of the line.

ILM models VR narrow gauge buffer stop, careful of the drop beyond!

 I also did some more scenery work down from the trestle near the creek bed. I think this is the slowest part of modelling doing the scenery, but unlike wiring that tends to be hidden at least your results can be appreciated. One thing about changing over to O scale is the enormity of the trees over what you need in HO. They are huge and take some time to do right. I have put in the bare minimum at the moment just to get the feel of a scene, more detailed work in a scene will come later (maybe time permitting)

NA 8 runs towards Eden over the creek

 

The creek bed

So far in my scenery work I have been able to use a lot of recycled HO material which was all sorted out into take away containers. At least one corner of the layout is getting completed, it's just a slow process of keeping at it and it will all get done eventually.

NA 8 makes its way downhill from the trestle

 Another project that I have started on it to put some fascia boards on the edge of the layout. This is the final dress up to make the layout look presentable and finished (long way to go yet). It's hard to pick the right colour for the boards. Originally I was going with a darker shade of green but I thought it would blend in too well with the greenery on the layout, so I chose a darker grey which I think looks quite smart and hopefully will hide the dirt and dents etc a bit better. I am using 3mm mdf board. I obtained a 2400mm x 1200mm sheet and had to take it outside to do the first cut. The board has been glued to the main baseboard and not screwed. When the edging was cut it was taken outside for an undercoat and then the first coat of grey. When they are all in position they will all receive their second coat.

One end of Eden with the fascia board in place

 Eventually I will get around to painting the legs the same colour to blend it all in.

Section of fascia being glued into place.

 Visible in the above photo is a joining strip that is only glued to one side of the baseboard where the join is. I have tried to think ahead to when someone will have to pull all this apart. Either me or someone else.
I also did some more ballasting near the level crossing in the second last photo above. The glue is still wet, so this may be covered in the next blog write up, till then happy modelling.