Time Flys
I saw the news tonight and listened to the ratbags in the US of A who were dead set certain that the world was going to end on the 21st of May. I am typing this with mild panic as although it is dark the blinds are open with one eye looking out for the asteroid or what ever it is approaches. It is already the 21st here in Aus so maybe it was American time that it was to happen. And to think I replaced two light bulbs tonight. What a waste of time.
Looking at other blogs I follow, and if they follow SCR the list tells you how long since your blog has been updated. Crikey I didn't know four weeks can go that fast. Well I must admit I have'nt spent much time in the shed lately having been busy with yard projects and other computer assignments that have deadlines to be met.
After my recent 'loss of data' fortunately I found on a second computer many photos of SCR dating from early 2002 up to late 2009.
I went through some shots of August 2002 that were taken mainly of Bega, the main station that runs down the centre of the shed. This is where the main action takes place. The main platform has three platform faces and two docks. There are carriage sidings, goods yard, a few private sidings and a yet to be developed loco area.
There are two frightening things about these shots. (other than being crappy low res shots)

• It was taken nearly nine years ago when we were all much younger. How time flys.

• Not much has changed at Bega after looking at the shots.

But the good news is when I look at the layout in the background I can see how much progress has been made from chicken wire hill.

This shot shows the main platforms and goods roads
The loco area is down the far end. Taken in August 2002

This shot is taken from the opposite direction with the
passenger carriage sidings in the centre.The unfinished scenery
in the background is now completed.

A small goods yard is situated in the loop at the end
of Bega Yard. A cement plant is now where the RU's are.
Loco depot to be built to the right hand side.

The last shot looking over the platforms and goods yard.

Well if the world ends tomorrow in America, I hope I will be sound asleep in bed and know nothing about it.

Coal her up....
There is never enough time on weekends to get all things done. Since the arrival of 3827 to the south coast fleet two weeks ago I have only had time to coal up the 38.
Baseboards generally serve two purposes. One to hold a layout up from the ground and to provide a cover for all the junk that hides underneath.
I can self assess myself and admit it don't fall into the real neat freak category. I have most of the rail related books sitting on a book shelf and even have the books on locomotives arranged in numerical order, the rest fall into a fit by size category.
Then down the far end is all the scenery bits and pieces. Bags of foam, coloured plaster, dry branches hanging out for the day when they will be instructed to look like a tree. There are even paper bags full of strange looking items that needs a look in every now and then find out what it is.
One such item is some lichen that I have had from way back in 1976 when me and my then girlfriend (now mrs) went to New Zealand for a tour. I collected it from fences stuffed it into a paper bag then it came back home with me. I'm glad Border Security is a recent tv show as it has allowed me to get away a fine or gaol sentence for smuggling in plant products. The exercise actually futile as I discovered the same product was available on our own trees up in the New England area. It will eventually get used.
Another item associated with under baseboard 'cupboards' is the cloth draped down in front of the layout in an attempt to not only to hide the junk but to make it all look more attractive. It does both jobs well. To well some times when I start looking for something and can't remember where its hiding. Maybe I should put post-it notes on the cloth 'Ballast behind here'.
It was this cloth yesterday that had me looking for at least twenty minutes for a tin that held my real coal supply for filling tenders. Eventually it was found hiding behind some gyprock saved from a rainy day project for the next rainy day project.
The DJH 38 has a shallow area thankfully for the coal bunker so it was an easy job to just pile in the coal until it was heaped and looked right as regards to size. Once the profile was looking right I sprayed it with water mixed with some detergent then some diluted white glue to fix it together. I made sure there was some spilled coal towards the back of the tender forward of the water hatch.
So tonight I took a dozen shots of the coal in the tender. I must admit only one reasonable shot turned out and have included it.

So the next project now is to get the headlight put in. As they say watch this space.

We havvada gooda news and de badder news.

First off the good news.....
The 38 class locomotive must sit close to the top of peoples list of locos. I remember when the first brass 38 was brought out by the Model Dock Yard in Melbourne all those years ago. I don't think I was even earning a wage at the time to even contemplate buying one.
In the later years I succombed to the Lima effort? for a 38 class. They were on the noisy side and just didn't look as good as they should. So when it went for a run on the layout I figured once it got about four or five metres away from the panel I was driving from I could no longer see it and even better couldn't hear it. Unfortunately having a circular route layout it eventually returned and I saw and heard it again. Another good reason not to have very solid baseboards is that when the loco didn't move you could bang the layout side and off it would go. (Along not off).
Things got a lot better when eventually DJH added the 38 class to their range of models. Again I was reluctant to purchase a model as I already had a DJH 30T (which got assembled by someone else), a 36 class (which I sold when the Austrains model came out) a 32 class (which I sold when the Trainorama 32 came out) and a 50 class which I now regret selling as no replacements have come out.
Then next to arrive was the Eureka 38 class. I'm not sure why I didn't get one of these. Could have been the plastic boilers or did 38's really run down the coast as far as Bega??. What I liked though about the 38 was that sound was an option and if I had bought one this would have been the version.
I also missed out on the later brass 38's namely those built by Mansfield. These were certainly a vast improvement on the Dockyard models in every regard. Again I don't think a painted option was available, you just got the goldfinger model and had to go find someone to paint it up for you. I wasn't going to practice my first effort at spraypainting and lining on a 38 class.
Then it so happened that one of our group had decided to change scales from HO to O and had a partly completed DJH 38 class. Having no further need for it, I purchased it with having a kit builder finish it off for me in mind.
I contacted a few contacts (thanks Brad) and he suggested I contact an assembler on the Central coast. He was OK to do it and the model was dropped off in January. Not only could he finish assembly but was OK to paint and line.
Following on from 3801, 3813 and 3830 the fourth most popular 38 surely must be 3827. I'm not sure why this loco was better than all the others but legend says so. The previous owner John had this number picked out, so as I knew I wasn't supposed to use the numbers 3801 to 3805(inclusive) (That wouldn't have stopped Bob Cooke) I went with the flow and picked 3827 as well. Does this make you sad in a way for all the other numbers that don't get picked? Who out there has picked 3829 or 3816?
Anyhow, I got a call last Sunday that the loco was ready and so it was delivered as a selection of photos below will show.


So when I finally got it on the track and kicked in the throttle away she went. I felt that I was actually excited to finally have a decent 38 class added to the South Coast roster. I reckon only having one 38 class on the roster books is a great idea. All the love can now be concentrated into the one engine. Those of you readers out there with one of every number of every class of loco that comes out. How can you share the love between them all. Reminds me of people with say 15 kids. What was you name again young man?


Its not only me that appreciates the new addition but I believe the loco crews at Bega are now trying to swap rosters for a drive on her.


I am also at a dilemma at the moment as apparently the kit doesn't come with a suitable headlight insert. (dumb as eh) So at the moment it is only rostered onto daylight runs. Anyone out there got any suggestions for a suitable headlight?
Another thing I need to add is a tender full of coal. Not a problem as I have a supply of real coal at hand. The load trials have yet to be completed and I'm sure of plenty of volunteer Bega crew who will do the job. Just putting this metal boilered loco on the track deems it to be a better hauler than the Eureka model. Time and tests will tell.


And the bad news..........
Well it has been quite a few weeks since the fotopic site has gone off the air, possibly for good. I used this site (along with many hundreds of others I suspect) for many photos on South Coast Rail. How time flies when I last noticed that I first used this site from August 2006 to post photos on.
This site was also the birthplace of the "other side of the tracks" where a more risque style of cartoon was able to be presented. (including cruelty to animals -giraffes and tunnel mouths).
I think there were a few hundred varied layout shots taken. So now move onto the badder news..........
And the badder news............
So when the fotopic site had gone down, I thought I still had the shots on the hard drive or so I thought until I got home from work one day.
My IT man (son) had told me there was a burning smell coming from the computer. Not knowing much about the insides of a computer, the only thing I know about burning chips is in the kitchen when the oil is too hot and they come out crunchy. No the bad news was that the hard drive was gone to God.
So you are all saying out there "SO you have a backup right?" Yes I was going to get one next week (but never did). So I have paid the ultimate sacrifice. I have lost a lot of files I was working on.
As luck would have it though, through the constant swapping and updating of computers I found a lot of photos I have been taking of South Coast Rail back to 2002 but there seems to be a gap in some of the recent year or so.
The folder with the "Other Side of the Tracks" was nearly complete. I was hoping to bring out a CD of them in the future when I got to 100 of them. Nearly up to 50 at the moment.
So I hope this hasn't happened to you out there. The hard drive has been replaced with two one teradactyl bite drives that means an exact duplicate copy is saved to each hard drive. So hopefully I have learnt the hard way and hope this dosen't happen again.
I might start up a hard drive backup company for railway people.
How about I call it "The Three Toots - Back Up Company"?

Can Do Wonders.

Well finally it has happened. Possibly the greatest thing to happen in the model railway arena since the invention of sliced bread has arrived.

I was trolling on the Walters web site the other day looking for building products for a model loco shed and I came across this new product. One wonders why this product took so long to develop. It will be the saviour of many modellers, not only as a great time saver but also for the people who are new to the hobby.

So what is this new product? It is ‘SCENERY IN A CAN’. I could hardly believe that it was possible to achieve such a product given the well over hundred years that model railways have been around. Why wasn’t it invented years ago?

I was lucky enough to have a friend who was recently returning from the US on a holiday. He is not into model railways but was quite keen to help in the purchase of one can for me to try out.

Currently the can is only available in one type that being ‘ Mountain Stream’.

Their web site has announced that if this venture is successful then other types will follow such as “Western Plains”, “Hillside Scenery” and “ Coastal Dunes” the latter I suppose would give a sandy texture that would be good for creating beach scenes such as one of Bombo beach I had in mind.

I was a bit sceptical in this product but after receiving this can from my friend, I took it down to the shed to try it out. With such a new product I took the time to read the instructions on the can not wanting to wreck a scene in the usual fashion of ‘if all else fails read the instructions’. It recommended shaking the can for a good three minutes to ensure all the contents were thoroughly distributed within the can. The usual ball bearing was in there and after shaking for around two and a half minutes you could hear the mixture thickening up and I knew it was nearly ready to spray.

I have a corner on the layout where this can of ‘Mountain Stream” would come in handy. So with some trepidation and my finger on the trigger, I pushed down on the cap and out came a stream of stream. Strange words but true. The instructions also stated that the angle of spray and distance from the point of application would vary the result coming from the nozzle. Understandably the further away you are the more time the product has to dry before reaching its intended target. I have enclosed a shot of a portion of the stream to let you decide if “SCENERY IN A CAN” is for you.

Its fairly expensive (around $40.00 a can) but with all new products this is expected to allow companies to recoup the money spent on R & D. Maybe you want to wait a while for the price to fall. Like most electronic products they get cheaper the longer they have been around.

It will possibly be a good idea to wait till perhaps Model Railroader gets hold of the product and reviews it. They seem to be able to praise or bag a product given the resources a big organisation such as they have for testing.

In closing I must say I was privileged to be able to be among the first in Australia to try this exciting new product. I haven’t got a lot more scenery to finish off but I’m looking forward to be able to speed up this work and get on with some building of structures.

Now wouldn’t it be great if they can get “STRUCTURES IN A CAN”.

For further particulars try Walters.com

Kamilaroi Railway
I am pleased to see that my ex work collegue and still good friend Jim has re-instated his blogspot for his north west railway. Unfortunatelty it seems all his earlier posts are gone and he will have to start again.
You will find it at :http://www.thekamilaroirailway.blogspot.com/
Seems like he has bumped into another blogspotter Brad for a milkshake down the southern highlands.

Kameruka Progress
I have finally got around to spreading some dirt around the yard at Kameruka and cultivating some weeds and grass.
After attending the Forestville Exhibition and visiting the Uneek stand I purchased a weighbridge that had already been assembled for $10 more than the kit price. It came complete with weathering and was mounted on a small piece of timber. A bargain. A spot was found for it near the goods siding. I tried to removed the weighbridge hut and weighbridge from the timber to set it lower in the yard. The hut came away quite readily but the weighbridge part was etched and glued directly to the timber and it started bending when I tried to prise it away from the timber. Back to plan two = just leave it there. So it was glued down to the base board and I mounded the dirt up around it.
I have only done some ballasting around the fruit loading siding so far to see how it looked. At this stage I was scraping the bottom of the barrel and ran out of dirt for the siding. So I grabbed the empty ice cream container and a sieve and headed out into the street. Once upon a time I only had to go out the front to rake up dirt from the verge but with unexpected council progress in providing guttering I now have to walk around the corner to get a new supply.

As can be seen in the photo above the platform road hasn't been ballasted yet as I need to provide platform extensions on each end, then the ballast will be laid between the edge and track. There won't be as many weeds growing in the main line and loop as the sidings.
The word was out also that the MHG and PHG brakevans were ready down at West Ryde. A call from a friend said he was going down there on Saturday morning to collect a bulk lot for a group of modellers based around Taree, so I tagged along to get my pack of each type. The trip wasn't wasted as I was able get get the April AMRM magazine and also spotted hanging on the wall a rivetting tool that came with four different spaced wheels of rivets. I am hoping to use it in the future to provide rivets for a 75' turntable to be built one year. So watch out now I can be a true rivet counter.

Arriving back home we went to the shed to show him the progress on SCR. Although we didn't have time to run any trains the shed and layout were reasonably 'cleaner' after having our regular group over on the Friday night for a running night and catch a dvd. I will now spend the next few weeks looking for everything that I have just tidied up and put away some where.
On one of the brakevans I found out that it had a shonky wheel, so bad it would have shaken the snag of the guards plate. It must have been a 'made on Monday' model. I will have to return it for an exchange wheel.
I also gave the vans a quick weathering using Tamiya Khaki drab thinned down with isopryl alchocol, but after looking at the results in the photos it needs a bit more work on them.
So I congratulate Toms Hobbies for getting these two vans out. I can now tick off two more boxes on the "Models to Collect before I Die" list.

How time flys! I have just checked my blog listings and it is just over two years ago since I posted the first one. It seems a bit embarrasing that the track that shows up for Narooma still hasn't been ballasted. But I shouldn't worry as they say 'Its on the list!"

Kameruka - Name change?

Well I have chosen to update the blog instead of my other project allocated today which was to get the remaining section of guttering painted. It is stinking hot and humid outside so it can wait till better weather.
Kameruka - name change? I had thought for a fleeting moment to change to name the name to Coolum. Yes it would be more appropriate to call it this. Unfortunately the station location is right under a window. And stuck in the window is and air conditioner. But after the last blogs effort on trying to justify why Kameruka needed at station, it will remain so named. Anyhow Coolum is up there in Queensland.
So you get good and bad with the air conditioner. It was purchased many years ago at a garage sale for the great price of $20. For this price I didn't want to cart home some one elses scrap metal, so I asked at the time if it could be plugged in and tested. Sure can do said the man. But stupid me fell for it. As garage sales usually start early and it was a cold August morning when the unit was turned on it was a matter of cold air in through the back and the same cold air out of the front. Doh!
Another thing about the controls on the air conditioner. For temperature you get a choice from 1 to 10. So if ten is the coolest when would ever use numbers one to nine? I'm bloody hot, give me the max man. And the function control is just as stupid. Fan and Lo Cool options. Get real. I'm still hot, the knob is set on Hi Cool and probably rusted in to that spot. The only other knob is sensible one. Its the timer, and graduated in hours. Exactly thats a good measure of time down in the shed - hours.

I bought it anyway. My salvation came when a friend saw it and identified the something inside wasn't right. He took it away fixed it and bingo I then got the bargain. It wasn't until the shed had been extended until it was placed into the window and there it remains. The bad bit is it infringes over the Candelo end of Kameruka and the track passes under it. Glad there will be no double stacking going on South Coast Rail. It will be hard to get reasonable photos without it showing up. At least this model is called the G.E. Skinny. Imagine how much larger a G.E. Fatty model would be in photos. I must say this model is a try hard unit. It certainly wasn't designed for this size shed but is better than nothing. At least I can work down one end and be reasonably cooler.

The code 100 track from the Candelo end has been removed and the code 75 track and points laid in. The oil and milk sidings can be seen in the photo and the fruit loading siding in the foreground. If you thought the good shed looks familiar your'e right. It had been borrowed from Bodalla which was previously borrowed from Candelo. I have similar good sheds waiting for assembly for both locations, another job for the future.

I am going to extend the platform at either end to cater for longer passenger trains. The station was built a long time ago as part of the conditions for attending the Branchline Modellers Convention that used to be held at Macquarie University. It was a great day out and this requirement to bring along something you are working on was a good incentive to get a project up and finished. This convention operated long enough for me to have completed this station and also build a sand bin based on the ones located at Eveleigh, Taree and Cootamundra. I also managed to finish a yard lamp that is now residing in Bega loco. There was so much talent out there all on display. Sad its not around anymore.
Kameruka sits above a tunnel where two tracks crossover each other. To gain access to the tracks underneath a section of panelling has had magnetic catches installed as shown in the photo. It is a simple removal to gain access to the area underneath. And also my crook carpentry can be hidden.


Kamilaroi Railway
For those of you who have a link to the Kamilaroi Railway blog and find its no longer there, Jim has deleted the blog for the time being as his computer was infected with a virus and worm and he removed the blog in case of cross infection (can you get that off a blog?). Anyway he will be back to continue on his interesting journey of North West modelling. Will keep you informed.

The Candelo Branch
I suppose model railways can fall into two main categories: Prototype or freelance.
When we choose 'prototype' we then endeavour to model that locality or location as close to the real thing as possible. This doesn't always work out as sometimes (usually) the space available does not allow a true to scale model to be built. This goes under the heading of selective compression. To model say Goulburn, Cootamundra or Junee to their full scale length would need a very large shed.
So to get around this we can reduce the length of yards, reduce the number of sidings and even leave some features out but the model bears some resemblance of its intended location.
This can be another reason why modelling branch lines can make a better choice as they can make a 'better fit' model.
Another enjoyable part of the hobby picking a real place is the background research required to make the model as close to the original as can be. This then requires further research depending on the era you are modelling. If I was modelling Orange as it now stands, I certainly would not need as much track and points if I was modelling it back around the 1950's. Darren from Gunnedah and Beyond has touched on this issue on some of his earlier blog pages.

The second category 'freelance' is where South Coast Rail fits in. I think in my first ever blog post I may of mentioned that the Illawarra section of the line down towards Bomaderry appealed to me. I have always thought a layout based on Bombo, Kiama, Gerringong, Berry and Bomaderry would be ideal. My shed was large enough to fit it all in but I didn't want to be restricted in being chained to operating like the prototype and I also preferred the continuous style of layout.

So keeping in the South Coast region, the next best thing was to pull out a road map of New South Wales and pick out a few towns that were recognisable. This lead to me saying Bodalla, Batemans Bay, Narooma and Bega yes you'll do. It was that simple. I now had complete flexibility in station and yard design as we all know there ain't no railway there now and never will be. I now have a justification in running the Bega Mail and operating my sleeping cars. Something I would have felt guilty doing if I modelled north of Bomaderry.

Another famous ficticional line amongst bloggers is Bylong Ray has also chosen to be completely free of prototype design. (Although I believe now there is an actual Bylong crossing loop been built on the Ulan line.)

South Coast Rail is a single line layout with four crossing loop stations. A fifth crossing loop station at Kameruka can be brought into use when a lifting flap is raised to join the track at Bega with the branch.

I also wanted a branch line as I enjoy this type of operation knowing I can only go to the end and then have to come back to the junction. (Many happy returns!) This was also a good place to put a coal mine as it would mean more operation/shunting. Again the road map came out and as this branch was to come off at Bega, a quick look found the towns of Kameruka and Candelo as suitable branch stations. One thing that wasn't available when I originally developed the stations for the layout in 1999 was Google Earth. From 2005 we were able to fly over landscapes and get a first hand look at what was down there. This is also a great tool for modellers of any location.

Another great app that is provided on Google Earth is the 'street view' option. Using this I was able to tour up and down the streets of Candelo without travelling the 485 kilometres to see it in the flesh. There are many old buildings typical of country towns that would look great on the layout, but the lack of room at Candelo on my layout will prevent this from happening.

Having picked out the two stations of Candelo and Kameruka, I rather belated decided to check the internet to get some background on these places.

KAMERUKA

• Bugger all there. A fly over on Google Earth shows a few houses. Although the internet calls it a village nothing was recognisable from the air.
• The only mentionables are the Kameruka Homestead and the Holy Trinity Church. It can't be a village if it hasn't got a pub there.
• On a gallery for one web site out of 36 photos there is only one of cows that made the area famous. At least they are all looking at the camera. (Did the photographer say 'Cheese'?
• The residents should think themselves lucky as I will be providing them with a station and a yard. It will also have an oil siding, milk and fruit packing shed. (An industry introduced by me.)
• The name Kameruka in Aboriginal speak means 'wait until I return' This name probably originated when in the early days a train from Candelo heading for the Bega show was full and the guard was heard yelling out 'Kameruka, Kameruka' (Yes they were picked up later by a return special and got there for the second race)

CANDELO

• There were two theories on how Candelo got its name (1) Candelo was a staging post for wagons and many drivers would arrive at Candelo after dark. As the river crossing was dangerous they would call for a light to show them the best place to cross the river. The common call was "candle o!" and (2) It was named after a town called Candelo in Northern Italy.

• I chose Candelo as opposed to Tantawangalo as I felt it would fit on the station nameboard better and is easier to pronounce.
• It is actually a town with shops (and a hotel).
• One web site shows agriculture, forestry and fishing as local industries. Not sure about the fishing bit.

So that's a bit of background on the two stations currently on the Candelo branch. I found that I could sneek another small platform in on the line. So I went back to Google Earth and there were two contenders between Kameruka and Bega. One is a locality called Kingswood and the other Black Range. I have chosen Black Range as I don't want a phone call from Ted Bullpit saying " Your'e not modelling the Kingswood, its mine I have already taken it" So Black Range it will be.

So thats a bit of the background to the Candelo branch. Sorry for the lack of photos. I don't have any cow photos to support my modelling.

Don't you think picking Bodalla, Kameruka and Bega for station names is a bit Krafty?

Kameruka
Lately I've been hanging around Bodalla too long doing work on the cliff behind the station and goods yard. There is only so much scenery work you can do before boredom sets in.
I needed a new challenge. Where can I go next in the room? I weakened on my resolve to finish an area before moving on to another.
The next challenge was going to be an area that wouldn't take forever to finish (famous last words).
So it was that I decided to concentrate on Kameruka. It is a crossing loop station on the branch to the terminus at Candelo and also represents the highest point on the layout. I figured it would give short visitors an eyeballs view of the wheels of the trains. This height was not scientifically devised but the need to fall slightly below a window set its height. Once the track leaves here towards Candelo there is a down grade. None of my grades on the entire layout are steep due to the fact I have plenty of length to make them gradual. Even the grade down to Candelo is only slight. In fact a Trainorama 49 class can haul 16 loaded BCH hoppers + Brakevan out of Candelo to Kameruka. From Kameruka to Bega it is all down hill.
This is where operation working can rule over reality. Bank engine working can be introduced between the two stations there by making for more interesting operation.
Kameruka has been laid with code 100 track. It has been my intention to replace the code 100 with code 75 when ever I do a relay at major stations. Much of the initial track was second hand and has served well. I find the code 75 track is a close to real track I need to go without taking the next step which is hand laying track.
Back yonks ago when I was modelling N scale I was making a layout with handlaid track. It had code 55 rail imported from the US. This layout had well over 40 handlaid points including a single slip and a few diamond crossings. It was at the time when I decided to change scales from N to HO as there were improved NSW type models coming onto the market. All this track was built when I didn't have space for a layout but had plenty of time to construct the track. Now it is the opposite. I don't have the time to build the track but enough spondooly to buy the points.
The next issue was to work out the track layout for the revised Kameruka. Originally this station was the only crossing loop on the branch and the loop was of sufficient length to take branch length trains. (even to restricting the coal train lengths). Some time ago I found that I could make better use of this line by installing a lifting track between the branch and Bega which luckily were on a similar level. The only other issue with the loop was to lengthen it as longer trains from the main line were now crossing there.


The opportunity to dig up the track gave me a chance to review the current set out of sidings. I wanted enough industries there to allow shunting in both directions. The current set up had the goods shed on a dead end siding of which I cannot relate to any examples on the NSWR system. This was resolved by continuing the track on as a loop to reconnect with the branch. This means the goods siding can now be shunted in each direction. Unfortunately the sheep/cattle race has got the flick. Two good reasons. (1) I would have to build them and (2) I had a building that can be made up to represent a packing house.
With the extension of the goods siding this meant the oil siding had to go from its current location and I found I could shoehorn it in over near the milk siding. The milk and oil siding trail from Bega, that is they are a straight shunt in the Down direction, so in the reverse there is more shunting required to return them towards Bega. The beauty of oil sidings is that they only need to be a bit more than two tankers in length. I was originally going to have the oil siding come off the milk siding but the clearances were too tight. Shunting would also be complicated by needing to move the milk wagons prior to shunting in the oil tankers. Something I'm sure the milk depot would get the shits with quick (But interesting for the operator). By regigging (wow 4 G's in that word) it I was now able to fit in three oil tankers.
So after settling on the final layout and checking out the stock of track and points on hand I found out I needed another three long right hand Peco points. I tried the closest hobby shop on the phone and they did not stock them but were willing to order them in. I thanked them, said no and then remembered I had gotten some previous supplies from the Model Craftsman at Blacktown and had good service. It was Wednesday around 2pm and I rang the shop. Gary answered, had what I wanted and put it in an overnight delivery bag. And on Thursday morning I had my points ready to continue work on the layout. So for $9, much cheaper than the petrol I would have used and about three hours saved by not going there. The only real loser would have been Gary in the fact I probably would have bought other stuff there as well. Well recommended.
So at this stage the branch is out of service until the new track is laid in.
...........To be continued when more track is laid in.

The Last Post(For this year that is). How slack. I haven't had a December post and now with about one hour to go I will try and squeeze this one in before I sit down in front of the telly and watch Sydneys famous midnight fireworks.
I am on leave for the moment and have already started on getting some projects crossed off the list. Starting with putting new tiles on the bathroom floor. The old ones have gone and the 'easy lay' tiles are down. Tomorrow comes the hard one, that is all the tiles that need cutting to finish off the job. Not looking forward to cutting the ones around the floor drain.
So in between running out of glue for the tiles, I thought I had better de-stress down the shed.
Work has been going on at Bodalla at the moment. I usually do a bit here and move onto there for more but have decided to just get one area fully finished, so you will have to get bored for a while until Bodalla is complete.
I 'borrowed' the goods shed from the branch at Candelo which actually sits directly above Bodalla. It might end up staying there and I'll build another one when I get around to revisiting Candelo to finish it off.
Yesterday I laid down the goods yard at Bodalla and started putting in weeds, grass etc to make it looked finished.

So it also turned out a good night after checking tonights $31 mill lotto. (Not so good when it has to be divided by 21 shares. And it wasn't first prize unfortunately) But still way in front. Ah well back into consolidated revenue it goes.
I'll finish off the year hoping you all had a good modelling year. Next year will hopefully be the year of the 40 class and the 48's. I reckon the Viccies have had a recent glut of locos and models so back to getting out a few more NSW models.
Hope next year is a good year for you all and looking forward to seeing progress on your blogs.
I will leave you with a few shots taken around Bodalla today.

Vertical as opposed to horizontal
I may have said this before but because of my design of layout I do not have many areas that lend themselves to modelling sweeping plains and fields. So my scenery mainly goes up and down as opposed to across. If I had only wanted to go around the shed once then this type of scenery would have been possible. Hopefully my final design of the layout with two laps of the shed has allowed extra crossing stations with still a fair bit of running in between.
We always seem to set ourselves impossible timetables. I had thought that by the end of last year I would have had all the scenery finished and would be onto the building construction stage. Ahead I have to build a station building, roundhouse and a coal stage based on Armidale. These will all take many hours.
Any how I spent a few hours tonight down the shed attacking the cliffs of Bodalla. This is by no means fast work. You sort of put a bit of green 'stuff' on and then stand back to see if it works and looks okay. What would speed things up a bit more would be to actually sort my scenery material into some sort of order. Unfortunately I am not that organised, but at least its all down one end of the shed.
Tomorrow I don't think I will see the shed again as I will be tackling the front down pipe from the gutter which I found was well and truly rooted. I have managed to get most if it out and hope to have fun with a rubber O ring and marry some pvc and clay pipe together.
Anyhow I will post some of tonights effort on line of the vertical type of scenery. The following shots were taken at Bodalla

Still raining
Well its another stormy night in Sydney, so I hope I will get this blog posted before the lightning cuts power. Good news the trains seem to operate OK today and I got home at the normal time.
Besides lightning knocking out the power for the trains and signals I still have two other reasons to dislike the rain. One is the poor old shed is vunerable to leaks (but when I checked tonight none so far) and the other is that I have discovered that my down pipe from the roof guttering to the street seems to be blocked somewhere and is overflowing. So I guess this weekend will be taken up digging up the pipe and try and get to the root of the problem.
Managed to get a small amount of scenery done on the weekend. A few inches for so many minutes.
I also had a visit from Dr. Marcus Ammann recently and he brought along his bag of tricks. He was a long time gunner come and have a look at the layout, but when my garratt had decided to lay down with a short, he found the sweet spot with the wand and got it going again. Thanks Marcus.

I was recently talking with an ex work mate Jim Harris who had built a layout based on Yass Town and Yass Junction. This layout operated in a shed until recently being sold to a guy up Mudgee way. Jim is now planning a new layout based up the North West of the state namely Boggabri and Moree. So I suggested to Jim why doesn't he make a blog for the layout and share with all. He has started one called the Kamilaroi Railway. I am not sure what the attraction of the North West is but Jim now makes at least 4 modellers I know modelling this area. We have Darren with Gunnedah and Beyond and Blair and Lance from Texas all doing the same.
I have included the link for Jims layout here. He is relating currently to his Yass layout and I'm sure in time will start posting about his new layout.

Missing in Action.
Model railways is a great hobby. If you have been in the game as long as I have every time you see the familiar bods at exhibitions, their faces are getting more wrinklier, head hairs are missing, and they have to ask you your name.
A group of some ex school mates from yonks ago meet a few times a year at each others place to catch up on their layout and watch a few dvd's etc.
Last Friday was one of those nights. And I did't get there. But I remembered in the shower this morning and promptly fired off the following email as an excuse. (One reply likens it to a book)
To explain what the email is about there was a storm in Sydney Friday afternoon and lightning knocked out signals between work and home. It is not about modelling as such, has trains in it, so be fore warned.

Let me draw out the saga leading up to the alzhiemer moment.

Friday around 4.15pm. Watch alarm rings,then sorry boys have to go home. Computer shuts down ( hurry up windows). Out the door into the lift and the fellow passenger mentions amongst other things that a lightning strike had hit at Thornleigh. Bugger that’s on the way home. Should I go via the Shore line?

Over at Central the delay board shows all line ‘Normal service’ except North line as ‘Minor delays’ Yeah I can live with that. If there’s a problem they should have fixed it by the time I get there.

So I board the 4.30pm North, settle into my normal seat with the latest edition of MX. All well as far as Strathfield, Eastwood then the rot set in. We sit in between Eastwood and Epping (thank goodness it was air con and our carriage had a dunny in it). After 15 minutes or so the guard announces due to “infrastructure problems’ there will be a slight delay. Yeah right slight my arse. He said there was a queue of train heading towards Hornsby, we were on it and would slowly progress. (Right he was).

So apparently the signals were OK up to Epping and trains were frustratingly going past our window as we were on the second north bound track. So each time one would go past us, the passengers would say “there goes another one why aren’t we moving? (swear, swear etc etc)

Eventually after an hour or so we moved up to Epping platform and dumped off the Eppingites and any one else that were willing to walk home to Beecroft (etc etc –yeah it would have been quicker). Now the guard announces we will be here for a while longer and if we want to get out and stretch your legs do so. He was a good PR man for Railcorp as he also said that he wouldn’t leave anybody behind (how nice). The smokers also took advantage for a quick polluting puff outside, then come back in and smell the carriage out. There were some people who went out onto the platform just for the fresh air and there was this one guy who couldn’t keep still. He kept walking up and down the platform for about two carriage lengths. Down to the end, reverse back up the platform and then used a tall box to go around and do another lap. Poor bugger must have done about thirty laps. Any longer and he would have needed a new pair of shoes. Well at least he wouldn’t have needed to go to the gym when he got home.

The trains that come across from the City to Chatswood and over to Epping were also being turned back, so these passengers were also invited to squeeze aboard our train. They were also invited by the guard to move up the front of our train. So after about another 40 minutes at downtown Epping we got on board the smokers, walkers, passengers any stray dogs and any one else that wanted to go north for the night. The guard also reminded us (about the 10^th time) that we will be proceeding ‘slowly’ north. And just to make everybody unhappier he announced we would be all stations to Hornsby, Berowra then all stations to Gosford. Stuff them I reckoned. Why would they miss out on Asquith, Mt Colah and Mt Kuring-gai. Let make it all stations and be done with it.

As we leave Epping going north there is a signal gantry with four sets of signals, one for each track. So out of the eight red lights normally lit, I spot one green and hope that was ours. Yes it was. Just out of Epping the line passes over the M2 motorway on which the cars in the morning and afternoon peaks are usually going at a crawl to which I have an internal mind thought (“suckers”). But not tonight. We were going slow enough to probably get their number plates if you wanted to.

Cheltenham and Beecroft we dumped off passengers and slowly kept getting closer to home. Trains were going past us from Hornsby so why weren’t we going faster? Being up towards the front of the train I could see the signals, most of them had a red colour, then turned my favourite colour (at that time) green. So Pennant Hills Accept Signal was two reds, we stop, one green, we go, and then we stop again.

Bugger whats wrong now?. I previously mentioned that our carriage had a dunny. Good news if you need to use it but bad news because cronic smokers think they can hide in there and get away with having a quick puff. As this train was an Oscar set it was equipped with the latest gear including CCTV cameras. No gangways between sets that the older and V sets provided for a quick nicotine fix.

So the Driver then comes bursting into our carriage armed with a fire extinguisher and yells out “Righto who was the bright person who decided to smoke in the toilet? You have set off the fire alarm and the OH and S declares that I have to check every thing out. Who was that person?. Silence for a while, then a guy points to the next carriage and the driver storms off there. (He was going to be late home for his dinner as well)

We heard no more for a while, then we started moving off. Then a voice from the Guard was heard “ The guy in the green flouro jacket has been caught on CCTV camera smoking in the toilet of this train. The police have been notified and will be meeting this train on arrival. It is an offence to smoke in toilets and there are smoke detectors fitted in there” Well the Guard didn’t say what station the police would turn up at. And surprise surprise, when we pulled up at Pennant Hills the guy in the green flouro jacket shoots past the window. 100 to1 on that guy didn’t live there but as there is a pub near the station I reckon that’s where he went to cool his heels for a while. Can you BYO to a pub? I reckon he had a slab under his arm. He looked the type.

But what were the chances of this happening again. As the first flouro guy whizzes past the window, there is a second guy in the same green flouro clobber gets onto the train. My first thought was your’re gone mate when you get off at Hornsby, you’ll have some explaining to do to the cops. But I was ready to step into the fray with my Railcorp badge and say ‘It wasn’t him constable, the guy you want is at the bar down at Pennant Hills.

Ah I forgot to mention I have an at least ten year old mobile phone that I use only for emergencies. So when I tried to use it said “You don’t have enough credit to make this call’ So the only time I needed to use it I couldn’t.

As we went past Thornleigh there were some Railcorp guys in their vests that looked like they were doing/had been doing something. Our guard announced that the signals have all been fixed and after Hornsby the driver will be going as fast as possible to make up time. Nice thought.

Yee haa. We eventually made Hornsby. Thank goodness it was daylight saving time as it was still light. So what is normally a 45 minute trip was over two and a half so far. Then the Hornsby shuffle begins. Likened to the Bermuda triangle this is the place where if it can go wrong this is it. The indicator optimistically showed my train in 15 minutes. Ah not enough time to whip over to the shops. I knew it was getting late because I heard a short freight train heading towards Sydney go past on the only track available (the Down Main).

The station staff were kept a little busy tonight. With wheelchair people nearly ending up in the car sheds, trains cancelled and confusion reigning supreme. The crews didn’t know what was going on and neither did anyone else.

Eventually a train turned up at Platform two it now being well after 7 pm and my stomach starting to say ‘when am I going to get something?’ The indicator showed it all stations to Berowra. I jumped aboard at the last minute as sometimes these indicators had a mind of their own. Yes they could change direction and send you the other way. Taking a chance as well as a seat, I heard the Guard say “All stations to Berowra” Still being a non believer, the sight of the Asquith BP service station had me at rest. I could now relax knowing I would be home soon before it was dark.

Eventually home was reached, the security light started burning for me as soon as I was within range. After the doorbell was rung I was then greeted by my family of two (three if you include Rusty the rabbit) and started telling them what you have just read.

So did you make it to the end? Promise the next post will be on a model theme.

I'm Off
Meaning I'm off on a short break from work. Its around this time of the year when the weather is nice and a good chance to have a break before the end of the year. And right in the middle is the Liverpool Exhibition to get all inspired again and make a few purchases.
Bodalla station has aquired a small car park just in front of the signal box and opposite the local store. So it becomes a rush when a trains in and when some of the locals want to park there to get a carton of milk. There is fat chance of getting any extra car spaces there as all the available space is now taken up.A bit more greenery has sprouted up and a pedestrian walkway across the track is nearly complete.
The signal box is nearly finished. A signal box name board will help the signalman know where he's working and a down pipe into the water tank will stop the ground from getting boggy. I haven't bothered putting a frame inside the box as the door doesn't open anyway and he can't get in.When the superb Trainorama BCH hoppers had come out I was very slow on the uptake and only managed to get a four pack. I figured that this would be sufficient for photography purposes in that if the first four were visible they would show up well in the pictures. I had already about 15 AR BCH's and as usual for me, completed but no decals and detailing on. This was going to be applied 'later', but never did happen. I was also able to build up the fleet with 15 modified cut down Athearn hoppers. These at least were painted and lettered. They made up into a nice long train and when down the other end of the shed I couldn't see that they had no decals etc on anyway.
I was hoping that Trainorama would rerun the hoppers one day and sure enough last week BBB came on the forum and announced they were available once again. So I hot footed it down to West Ryde last Saturday and secured another two packs to now have 12 BCH's for the train. I will get another 4 pack later and make a total of 16 for the train.
The coal mine at Candelo comes off the branch line terminus and means that two return runs have to be made to the mine to load the whole train. This enforced shunting makes for an interesting half hour or so on the branch to achieve. The run round at the mine takes eight hoppers and a brakevan. It is shoe horned onto a small shelf suitably scenicked off from the lower branch. It has a siding which can eventually take a dedicated shunting engine for the mine working.
When I got the hoppers home they were only in their virgin black for no more than ten minutes when I weathered them with Tamiya Khaki Drab and diluted isopryl alcohol. They certainly look better.
I assembled them on the track under the coal loader and they looked good. So I went and got the video camera and tried to put together another video clip. The finished result South Coast Rail 2 doesn't have sound only the wheel sounds and stuff me when my digital watch decided to go off. Also a blackened out section where I deleted an out of focus piece. (Just pretend its in a tunnel). I am still learning the software and it takes ages to render and more ages to upload to Youtube.
Anyway enjoy the clip warts and all. You will find it here if you have ten minutes spare.