After getting back home I visited the Skipton model railway exhibiton over the bank holiday. As usual a good mix of layouts and traders. I came back with plenty of inspiration to crack on with my layouts - I do not find I need much motivation to build rolling stock, but seeing completed scenicked layouts does prompt me to get on with build my own so that I do have somewhere to run all the stock I am building.
Whilst there I bought a second hand H&M duette to replace the very battered and rusty example I have been using for probably the last 30 years. I also bought a Ratio ground van body for my 009 layout.

As to actual progress, I have done more construction and painting on the station building for my 009 layout. This included trying the a technique for realistically painting bricks such that the whole wall does not appear exactly the same colour - having been modelling US wooded buildings recently it is a suprisingly long time since I have needed to actually paint any brickwork.
I have also begun assembly on the grounded van body kit which I plan to use for a goods shed. Having started the kit I have realised that a sliding door van may have been better - a swinging door would not be able to be opened if goods had been been stacked outside. I may look into making the platform wider to allow for this, or else possible fit a sliding door which is modelled as an obvious later addition.

One of the other 'distractions' that has kept me from the layouts is an aircraft kit I have been building. Back in my younger years I build many of these, as did almost all my friends at the time. From memory the best I built (as in standard of completion, rather than favourite model) was a Matchbox BAC Strikemaster, however this was not the type of aircraft I normally built and the one I remember enjoying most was a Westland Lysander. When I saw that Airfix had reissued this kit I decided to buy it and see if I could make a better job of it now than I did back then.
To cut a long story short I am suprised I ever got any of these kits together back then! It may be building railway models has improved my model building, but many of these kits (from many of the companies, not just Airfix) are straight reissues of older kit and therefore need a suprising amount of work due to poor fit of the parts. I can now see why there are nearly as many plastic aircraft model magazines as there are model railway ones.
As it is I have so far only assembled the fuselage and tail, build the wings and half the undercaridge. I will stick at it and get it together eventually. Whether I will ever build another of the many reissue that are appearing on the shelves remains to be seen.



As promised, this week I will add some thoughts and findings on my attempts to convert N gauge wagons to automatic uncoupling (for a future planned N gauge Inglenook Sidings layout).

I had hoped to add photographs to illustrate this, but as yet have had no luck photographing the small black pins on black couplers, so this update will for the time being have to be text only.

what I was intending to acheive was some kind of automatic uncoupling with N gauge wagons. I did not want to carry out major modifications to these wagons, which rules out converting to DGs. Also I did not need delayed action uncoupling, just uncoupling at a given location was all I was needing.
There are ramps available which will mechanically uncouple the wagons by pushing up under the couplers - but I had heard only bad things about these in that they either would fail to work by not lifting the coupler high enough, or else would derail the wagons. The other method I knew of was that sold by Peco, a part which would attach to the coupler such that it could be lifted by a magnet. It was this method that I planned to try and duplicate.

To uncouple a pair of wagons needs just one of the couplers to be lifted. If both lift at the same time then the wagons would not separate. For this reason, and also the fact that wagons on my layout would never need to be turned, I planned to convert the coupling only at one end of each wagon.

I initially began testing using the wire supplied with DG couplings and the magnets I had already purchased to use with the DG couplers on my narrow gauge stock. These early test did not go to well, the wire did not generate enough lift to reliably operate the coupler even when the magnet was just below the sleepers.
I acheived a far better success rate using a bent Peco track pin, with the head of the pin nearest to the magnet. I drilled a hole right through the coupler shaft, as far clear of the chassis as possible, using a 0.8mm drill. I then bent a track pin such that when inserted into the hole the head of the pin would sit just short of the axle (on a 10' wheelbase chassis, slightly less on a 15'). After test fitting the pin I removed it and trimmed a few mm from the end such that it would not stick through the coupler shaft and catch on the chassis, I then attached the pin with superglue such that the horizontal part was about 1mm clear of the coupler shaft and did not limit the movement of the coupler at all.

As to which wagons can use this type of uncoupler. I am sure I read that they would only work on unsprung couplers - presumably the spring would resist the lifting action and prevent them working. Rather than accept this I decided to test it. Most of the wagons I modified were Peco so they were all unsprung couplers. I did however have an old Ibertren wagon to hand with sprung couplers. I converted this wagon and it worked just as well as the others. It is possible that some kinds of couplers may not work, as I have not tried other types I can not say, but it does appear that at least some kinds of sprung coupler can be modified.

In use, due to the way I have modified my wagons, all the stock will need to be the same way. As my layout will have all siding facing the same way I can plan it such that when uncoupling the modified coupler will remain over the magnet whilst the other wagon is pulled away.
Also because of this simplified method of operation I need only modify my wagons - there being no requirement to modify the couplers on the locos.

A final mention of the magnets. This method should work with either hinged permanent magnets, which I am using on my 009 layout, or electromagnets which I am using on my HOn30 layout. Note that it will not work with fixed permanet magnets, as any wagons pulled over such a magnet would uncouple every time.



Again another week of bits and pieces across the numerous scales which I am modelling in (although currently all on the same gauge - 9mm).

On my 009 loco I have done more work on the filling and covering with a primer coat. This takes some time as once the filler is added it needs to be left to dry thoroughly before sanding. If the sanding reveals any low spot (or actually ends up causing some) the the process needs to be repeated. Then once done the first primer coat can be added, and once this is dry it can show imperfections which were not visible before - so back again to step 1!

I also did some of the remaining tidy up on my OO station building, namely adding one window frame and completing the chimney. When I assembled the chimney as per the instructions I found that the chimney pot was solid. This did look rather obvious, bearing in mind layouts are frequently viewed from above, so once the glue was set I drilled it out. I used three different sizes of drills, ending in 2mm. By taking care I managed to drill down into the part without breaking the glued joint, and I think vastly improved the look.

On the O9/On15 stock I am building I attached the chassis to the third and fourth wagons. I also adjusted the DG couplers on these wagons ready to receive the loops at one end - I have now started building these couplers without solder (except for strenthening the 90 degree bend on the buffing face) and when doing this find it easier to fix the coupler to the wagon before the loop is added.

Finally I dug out the N gauge wagons which I had been converting to magnetic uncouplers and converted 3 more wagons. One interesting thing about this is that I had been led to believe that only non-sprung couplers would work (which from my collection of rolling stock means only Peco), but I tried this on a wagon with sprung couplers at it worked fine. It may be that some sprung couplers are not compatible, but some testing will be needed to prove this either way. I will add more details next week on how I did this and how I plan to incorporate these into a layout I am planning.



Another week of doing bits and pieces in various items of rolling stock, with no progress to show any any of my layouts!

I have completed the painting on the two On15 wagons I was working on last week. I have now painted the wood deck on both of these and also painted the chassis. As I painted these two wagons at the same time the wood decks have turned out almost identical in colour, they are however slightly diffent in shade to the two I have already painted. I do not see this as a problem, in fact more of an advantage as a train of otherwise identical wagons would be expected to show some variation in weathering of unpainted wood due to either age of the decking or difference in use.
I now have 4 opearable On15 wagons out of the 5 which I need for my planned layout (a 3-2-2 Inglenook). The Fifth wagon is under construction waiting for me to obtain some more Slaters styrene strip for the chassis side frames.

I also painted the cab interior of my 009 locomotive. It is still early in the construction to be painting the cab, but I decided to make a start on it now as it will only become less accesible as construction progresses.
Other progress on this locomotive is to start filling the holes in the body which were provided for the handrails which I will not be using. I am trying this using typing correction fluid as a filler - a trick I learned from aircraft modelling magazines - I will let you know if this works out once it is sanded and painted.



I seem to have managed to go 2 weeks since my last update - again. Must try and do better!

Some small, but significant progress on my 009 rollong stock, in particular the heavily weathered wagons. On these I had initially painted them in a bare wood colour, and then dry brushed over this with the paint colour to represent old and worn wagons. That part of the process worked fine, but I had then dry brushed over in a darker colour. It was this latter stage which I was not happy with as it seemed to leave marks that were to distinct.
I left the wagons stood for a while before deciding what to do. Eventually I decided to wait for good light (the previous stage had been done under electric light, which may explain why it ended up as it did), and then 'wear down' the effect with wet and dry paper. This worked out very well, and even wore through some of the top paint coat down to the 'wood' layer which actually improved the worn wagon look I was aiming for.

On my O9 layout, which will be an Inglenook sidings layout, I drew out a plan full size. Using the length of wagons that I have built this will fit on a 27" long board. The width needed turned out to be 8", although when I build the layout I may go with 9", depending on the method of constrction I choose, because chipboard shelving is available in that width.
One thing that doing the full sized plan did show me was that the two points needed a short length of track between them, as otherwise the two sidings would be too close together. Th extra space needed was only 0.5", but it is as well I saw this on a paper plan rather than after construction has started.

Also, as if I really needed any more distractions, I received a book that I had on order on the Cyprus narrow gauge. I have not yet had chance to start reading the book, but just from an initial quick look it seems to be full of photos of interesting locomotives and railcars and also many shots of the goods rolling stock. I think I feel another layout coming on!



Again, a while since my last update! Not actually too much has been happening, although I have made some progress.

On my O9/On15 rolling stock I have done some more painting on the chassis, although have not completed these as the decking still needs painting and combining 4 or 5 colours can tend to put paint everywhere else as well.

I have also done some more painting of 009 wagons, particularly the one that I am finishing to represent older wagons. On these two I have completed the test I was making on leaving selected planks as unpainted wood to represent planks that had been replaced on older wagons but not repainted. On one wagon I applied this effect to two side planks, on the other I applied it to a complete side door. The effect has worked well, will upload some photos soon.

I have also almost completed the body of my On15 Mite loco kit running on a Bachmann chassis. This loco now just need couplers, paint and a driver to complete.

Whilst out and about I have bought some paint for my 009 diesel locomotive (see pictures in 28th April update below), both for the exterior and the cab interior.
I also bought a Peco N gauge setrack point. These are the shortest points available, but do not have a live frog. I am planning to test this with the locomotives/chassis that I have, if they operate over these points without stalling them I have plans to use them for layouts in N and On15.



I did not manage to put an update together last week because of the bank holiday, so I will catch up on everything this week. Various bits of progress across different scales.

On my 009 wagons I have done some more preparatory painting. This was to the wagon that I had test painted using a dry brushing effect to simulated faded and worn paintwork - on this wagon I added a wood effect undercoat to the remaining sides ready to continue the effect that I had previous applied to one side. I also fully undercoated two more wagons, an open wagon and an open hopper, in preparation for the same treatment.
On the other side of the first wagon I plan to try an extra effect - that of replaced but unpainted planks. I plan to do this by masking one or two planks before dry brushing the grey top coat. If this works out then hopefully the base wood undercoat showing through will look like a plank that has been replaced without being painted, but long enough ago for the wood to have started ageing.

On my 09 wagon fleet I have added the NBW castings to two more 4 wheel wagons. These wagons now have mostly completed bodies and chassis, tasks still to be done are adding bolsters to one of the wagons, painting, and then completing and adjusting the couplers.

Also in O9 I have done quite a bit more assembly on my locomotive (A Black Dog Mining Co Mite on a Bachmann chassis). The body of this is now almost completed, just needing the rear of the cab and the roof. I still need to determine how I will mount the couplers on this kit. Once that is done it will be ready for painting. I hope to update the photos for this loco on the site later this week.



Just little bits here and there this week, with no major areas of progress to show for it. I have added updated photographs of both of the locomotives I am building, and also of my 009 layout.

The loco to the left is a heavily modified Knightwing kit on a Bachmann chassis. The body and footplate are not yet joined, before I do so I think I will narrow the footplate so that it is only fractionally wider than the cab. This will only remove about 1mm for either side, but I think that the overall effect will be better as the the loco is already quite wide.
The other loco, an O9 kit, is designed for a Bachmann chassis. This builds as a very tight fit so as to be push fit with the chassis. I removed a small amout of material form the sode frames as the fit was so good that I was not sure if I could ever have got the chassis out again after the cab was fitted and I could no longer push down on the motor to remove it.

This latest images shows the backscene that I have added to the layout. Having added this does also have the effect that I can now turn the layout over without it resting directly on the trackwork so I took the opportunity to tidy up the underboard wiring and attaching the connector block which was still loose and hanging on the wires.
Next to do will be to determine how I will effect the hinging or lowering of the uncoupling magnets.



After having added some couplers last week, and some more this week, I have now been spending some time setting up both these and others that I had fitted earlier. DG couplers work very well, but like many other types only have a certain tolerance with regards to height. If you do not stick to these limits then operation could end up being hit and miss - which is not a pleasant way to operate a layout with a lot of shunting manouvers.
Fortunately a height gauge is available from the supplier of the couplers. Also there is some give in the etchings, such that if the mounting height on the wagon was not exactly correct then a little adjustment can be made without needing to remount the coupler.

Last week I also received the O9 loco kit I had ordered. This builds into a loco with a cab roof (optional) on a Bachmann 6 wheel chassis. The chassis was out of production for a time, although I believe that new supplies are now avaialble however I had already obtained one from the states.
I made a start on the kit, drilling all the required holes and beginning the build using superglue. I now need to decide on how I will mount the couplers. One option is to attach the couplers to the chassis, which I have done before, although they will need to be mounted further out due to the thickness of the headstocks. The other alternative is to mount them direct to the loco body. I think I am tempted to attach them to the chassis as I know they will attach there and come out to the correct height. Also I want to keep the overall length to a minimum in case I need to operate on sharp radius curves, in which case the distance from outer axle to coupler buffing plate is critical to reduce coupler swing.

I have not uploaded any photographs for some time, so I hope to add some by next week to cover my locomotives in both 009 and O9 and also my 009 layout now that I have fitted the backscene.



The main progress this week was not to do with any actual model building as such - it is that I have now completed and uploaded the section of pages for my 009 layout, Airedale. This may be the first time I have mentioned that name on this page, and even now it is still only a working name. I had been using Aire Valley as a working name, but then discovered that name had been used for a well known 009 layout in the past so I changed it Airedale. As mentioned in the new pages I plan on naming the layout for one of the towns or villages in, or close to, Airedale - although I will noit make any attempt to model the actual location other than the correct style of generic scenery.

On my 009 rolling stock I have added DG couplers to a further wagon, an open built from a Colin Ashby kit. This now brings to 12 the number of wagons which can be operated on the layout.
I have done some more assembly on my 009 loco, the cab and bonnet are now completed and glued together. The footplate has already been prepared, and the chassis is available, so the next thing to decide will be how the body/footplate unit will be attached to the chassis.

I have also added couplers to another 2 of the O9 wagons I am building. The Loco kit I have ordered should be here soon, and as I have the chassis ready I would hope that this would not take to long to assemble.



Not a great deal of progress due to the Easter holidays, and no photographs at all of what I have done!

I have done some further work om the 009 locomotive I am building from a modified Knightwing body kit and a Kato chassis. I have now cut and trimmed the bonnet top to fit the sides and front I had previously done. Also I have determined that the control panel for the cab interior will fit without fouling the chassis - although I will need to trim off some of the lower part. I am not sure if this will be all that visible once the glazing is installed, but it is easy enough to fit so I will add it before the cab is attached to the footplate.

If have also added the backdrop to the layout. On this layout the backdrop is deliberately low, this is due to to the fact that location in which I plan to store the layout will only allow a maximum height of 6".
I had been originaly been planning to use hardboard for both back and sides, however whilst setting up my workbench I found a peice of surfaced chipboard which was exactly the right height for the board at the back of the layout. By using this - it only needed cutting to length - I could avoid the problem I was expecting regarding adding extra strength to the hardboard to prevent it flexinging to much. The chipboard is a bit heavier than the hardboard would have been, but I think that is an acceptable price to pay on such a small layout. Pictures soon.

The new web page section for this 009 layout is now well on the way to completion. I hope to have these pages published in the next 2 weeks.
Also as part of this I will hopefully decided on a name for the line I am modelling. As you may remember from earlier updates the stock will be lettered in readiness for a future, larger, layout set in the Yorkshire Dales. I had originally been using the name Aire Valley as a working name, although I have now found that there has already been a 009 layout of that name. The final name will probably include the towns that the line serves (this is a yet still undecided), but in the mean time I seem to be using Airedale as the new temporary working name.



I am slowly reading through the years set of 009 society magazines I got when I joined last week. Have only read 3 so far, but full of excellent inspiration for rolling stock, locomotives, and especially railcars and railbuses - I have already got several ideas for future projects.

Some small progress on my O9 wagons, but my main progress this week has been on my 009 locomotive.
The footplate has now been fully trimmed so it sits flat on the chassis. I had already prepared the cab, but I have now cut the sides for the bonnet. This required some thought to decide where to cut so as to fit the length of the body to the length of the chassis. Fortunately this worked out needing only one cut each side and I did not have to cut through any of the access doors, which would have caused more work to rectify had it been neccesary. Note that the photo here was taken before I prepared the bonnet sides.
I also joined the sides and the radiator grill to each other so that the loco could be put together to see how it was looking.
Next to do on this loco will be to cut the bonnet top to match the length of the sides, and also add the end plates to the chassis. I also still have to work out a method of attaching the body/footplate unit to the chassis.



Some more steady progress with my 009 rolling stock this week, see below for details.

The highlight of the week though was the Narrow Gauge North exhibition at the weekend in Leeds. This was an excellent exhibition as always. I do not have any photos of the event, but see Andrew Milner's gallery for a good selection. Whilst there I also decided to finally join the 009 Society. I had been meaning to join for a while but never quite managed to get around to it. At the exhibition they had an offer of a the full previous year of the monthly magazine included in the membership fee. year were offering a full set year of back issues.
As usual the club sales stand was there and well stocked with all items related to narrow gauge modelling at very good prices. I bought an Eggerbach western coach. I had seen a photograph of this converted into a railcar on the Whitsend Tramway in a recent article in Railway Modeller.
I also bought a Kato tram chassis from the stall. I could already think of plenty of used for this chassis, but after the exhibition I did see one more - a D&RGW style Galloping Goose which used this chassis under the boxcar part, so may yet end up building one of these for my HOn30 layout.
One other thing I also bought was a graphite pencil, which was sold to improve electrical pick up from the rails. I will give this a try on my layout, but will wait until I have painted the sides of my rail before doing so.

Back to my 009 rolling stock, I have been doing some more painting
I have now completed the painting of my coach sides. These are now ready for assembling, which will undoubtably result in the need for some touching up at the corners.
I also primed my Snailbeach hopper wagon and the loco cab.
On the open wagon which I had exerimented with a dry brush painting technique - to represent very worn paintwork - I have used a similar technique to paint the ironwork black. The method was to ensure that there was not too much of a 'sharp edge' between the ironwork and the wood, which would look odd on a wagon which appeared so warn. This seems to have worked out well. I now need to add some light rust effects to tone the effect down even more.
Finally I did some weathering on my grain hopper conversion.



Still a slow time, but I have made a little progress on various items

On my 009 rolling stock I have done some more filling of unwanted gaps on my Snailbeach hopper wagon. I also fitted one DG coupler to this wagon. This was harder to fit than on my other stock due to the chassis being lower - on other vehicles I have needed to add a mounting pad below the chassis to get the correct coupler height, but on this wagon the chassis is already lower than needed. To get the correct height I needed to bend a coupler etch to allow it to be mounted lower whilst ensuring that the buffing plate was still at the correct height.

Still with my 009 stock I have also stripped the paint from the coach side I painted green, in readiness to repaint it red and cream (the photo below shows both sides still in their 'test' schemes which I applied to determine which colour I preferred).

I also did a small amount of work on my 009 locomotive, trimming the cab front such that it would sit over the Kato chassis which I will be using. The cab will actually sit on a footplate which I have yet to cut rather than directly on the chassis, however I though it would be easier to get the cab trimmed first rather than leaving it until it and the footplate were joined.

On the layout I did a little tiding of the wiring to enure that the power leads are held tightly under the board rather than hanging down where they could get caught whilst the board is being moved.

I visited the model shop today and bought 2 Peco N gauge chassis. These will be used for 2 of the 3 O9 wagon bodies that I have built (I also have a fourth body built, but that had been designed to use Bachmann N scale bogies). I also picked up 2 009 buffer stops - I actually need 4 for my layout, but the shop only had one packet of two left.

Finally I have prepared some updated photos for the site. The rolling stock images are currently on the site, but the station picture will not appear anywhere but this page until such time as I complete the new section of the site dealing with my 009 layout.

A bit of a slow time on the layout at the moment! Due to holidays and decorating I have not had the time to do very much, this explains why no update at all last week.

The one thing that I have done, which was long needed, was to complete the baseboard framing. Previously I could not turn the board the right way up because it was still basically a flat board, but I had added the below baseboard point operating rodding.

Now that I have framed the board it can be turned the right way up and I can concentrate on construction the uncoupling magnets and then the backdrop.

No new photos as yet, but I will try and get some taken soon to show the progress on the board and on the rolling stock.



Just a few odds and ends done this week, so no dramatic progress to report

My 009 Grain wagon conversion is now fully painted. On this wagon the body is brown and the roof white (actually very light grey, so it looks white without looking too bright). Next to do will be lettering. For this I plan to add the word GRAIN to the sides, either from individual lettering or else from a wagon lettering sheet from any scale where the lettering comes out to be a suitable size.

I have also completed the test painting on the coach sides. This testing was to decide whether to paint the coaches red or green. Initially I had been going to go for green, but then though that would be a better colour for my steam locos and therefore decided a quite different colour for the coaches would be better. I keep looking at the painted sides, but have not as yet come to a final decision!

I also added a DG coupler onto the Kato chassis I will be using for my first diesel. I had measured the chassis, particularly the coupler overhang, against the Bachmann chassis which I knew would work on the 6" curves on my layout and did not predict any problem. However predicting is one thing, but having now added the coupler and sucesfully run the chassis with a train I now feel better about putting in the time to add the body.

On the layout I have now added the remote manual operation for the remainder of the pointwork, which now seems to be working fine. I have also bought the timber to add a framing to the board. This will add stregth to the board, but more importantly will protect the under baseboard point rodding - currently I need to keep the board stored upside down!



I finally made the decision on the chassis to use for my first 009 loco. I have decide to go with the Kato chassis. This decision was as much to do with the fact that my two bachmann chassis will be better suited to HOn30 and O9 locos as it was to do with the lower motor giving more room for cab detail.
I have not done any more on the body shell (conversion from a Knightwing kit) having already assembled the cab, but I have installed one DG coupler on the chassis so that it can be properly test run.
Next to do will be to cut a footplate and headstocks. The width will be determined by the Knightwing cab and the length by the chassis. I will then built the engine cover to suit this length.

I have done some more painting on my grain wagon, converted from a Parkside Dundas van kit. The body is now fully painted and the roof has one coat but will probably need at least one more before I add some weathering.

I have also been doing some test painting oin my next coach kit. The joys of freelancing are such that you do not have any prototype livery to follow, therefore you need to develop your own. I had originally planed to paint the coaches blue (like the Darjeeling) but this did not work out how I had envisaged it. I am now testing two separate sides. Both have a cream upper (Humbrol call it Oak), the lower is dark green on one and red on the other. Once I have completed the test and decided which looks best I will strip the other and complete the coach.

On the layout I have installed two further point operating rods. This leaves two to do (although I have already done the soldering on these two), after which I can complete the baseboard framing prior to adding the uncoupling magnets.
Grain wagon - body now fully painted. Started painting roof



This week I have been doing some painting of rolling stock, and also testing and beginning to instal point operation rodding on the layout.

To cover the painting first, I did the interiors on 4 wagons. These were the three open wagons kits that I started most recently, plus also another open wagon kit that I had built previously but not yet painted.
I also did an experiment with one of the wagons. On this I also painted one of the exterior sides in a darker verison of the raw wood effect used on the interior. Once this outer side was fully dry I then painted it grey, but rather than applying a normal coat I repeatedly dry brushed it so that the the colour began to built up but did not completely cover. This has been quite sucessful as the colour has built up in a reasonable representation of old worn paint which is starting to allow the wood underneath to show through. I now plan to repeat the process on the other sides of this wagon and complete the painting in the same way.

The other progress this week was to start installing point operation rodding, so that the points can be operated remotely from the front of the layout. I initially did some testing of other methods, which did not work out as well as planned, but I finally found a method that would work using only items I had available. Most of the time was taken up testing, but I did have time to fully install the control for one point to prove the method.
The method I eventually settled on used N gauge rail for the rod (as I had plenty of short lengths to hand, and you do not need anything long on a narrow layout). This was bent 90 degrees at both ends, at the point end for about 3/4 of the depth of the baseboard (not shown in the photo, as I had already installed it before getting my camera), and at the other end a similar bend to form a handle. I soldered a short length of springy wire at the point end, to connect the rail to the tie bar whilst still allowing some flexibility to compensate for any over movement of the rod without straining the point.

The other thing which came from my testing was that bending the rail with the base to the outside of the bend, rather than to the side, resulted in a more rigid and hopefully permanent change. I had earlier found that a bend with the base of the rail to the inner of the bend would be likely to crack the rail. Because of this the only way I could bend the rail up for the point operation and down for a handle was to apply a 180 degree twist part way along - fortunately this was easy to do whilst gripping the rail with two pairs of pliers. This twist in the rail can just be seen in the smaller photo.

The final part was holding the rail such that it could slide back and forth, but not allow excessive side to side or up/down movement. I did this using scraps of plasticard with two holes drilled, about 4mm apart, and fixed these loosely over the rail using 2 Peco track pins - as shown in the smaller photo. I found that with the short runs that I needed for this layout that two of these per rod were sufficient.

Once I have fitted the rodding to all the points I will complete the baseboard framing, which will be notched to clear each of the rods. The front rail will be set back from the front of the board by about an inch - between the two pencil lines in the first photo. Doing it this way will leave the clearance for the handle ends of the rods to move back and forth, but having them set back below the edge should protect them and still allow the board to be rested on edge if needed.

I have also made a start on a set of pages for this site covering my new 009 layout. I do not plan to fully issue these until the layout is a little more advanced, as I see them more as a description of the layout rather than a work in progress log as covered by this page.
In the meantime I am still updating the 009 rolling stock gallery, linked from the homepage, with details and photographs as construction progresses.



I will start this weeks update with a photograph of the current progress on my 009 layout. No visible progress since last week, but I have only just uploaded the photo.

Next to do on this layout will be to add point control. I am planning to use rodding (or N scale rail) to operate the points manually but remotely from the front of the layout

Some progress during the week on my 009 rolling stock;
On the 3 Colin Ashby open wagon kits that I started recently I have now added the brakegear (except on the open hopper, which I may leave off until after painting), and also added the pads for mounting the couplers. Next to do on these wagons will be painting and couplers, after which they will be ready to be operated.
I also added coupler pads to an ex GVT van kit that I had previously equiped with KD couplers. Having had the larger couplers fitted has left a larger gap in the headstocks than will be needed by the DGs that I will be fitting, so this may need to be filled once the couplers are installed.
I have also completed the detailing on the grain hopper that I have converted from a van kit. This consisted of adding rails to the roof for the sliding loading hatches, and also adding a wheel to the side of the wagon to control the discharge hopper. This wagon already has couplers, so now only needs painting and lettering.

At the weekend I also bought some dark green paint (Humbol, satin finish). I am going to try this on one of the sides of the Colin Ashby coach kits I am building. Previously I had tried a mid blue/sand scheme, but have never been quite happy with it so thought I would try green and see if it looks better.

I also made a start on my first locomotive for this layout. This will be a conversion of a Knightwing body on an N gauge chassis - I still have not decided between a Bachmann 6 wheel chassis or a Kato 4 wheeler. Both these chassis are a similar length, although there is less motor above the footplate on the Kato. As I am making this as I go along, rather than a definate plan, I have started by assembling the sides and roof of the cab. I will then try this against my chassis (when I decide which to use) and determine firstly the size for the footplate and then secondly how long the engine cover will need to be.



Happy new year to everyone. I did not get much time to do anything over the Christmas holidays, but have managed to make quite a bit of progress since.

On my 009 layout I have now completed track laying on the front of the layout (fiddle yard still to be done). All track is wired, so the layout can be operated as is, although currently there are no uncouplers.

I ordered, and have received, some magnets to use for uncoupling. I decided to try 4mm round magnets from first4magnets. Although small these are certainly stong - with some of my stock the couplers would rise over the magnets through the full depth of the board. Unfortuantely there were a few items of stock which needed the magnet closer, but not too much of a problem as I had already drilled the board at all magnet locations prior to track laying.
Now I just need to work out a simple but reliable method to hinge the magnets so they can be lowered when not needed.

One other thing I did once the track was down was to test the chassis that I may be using. I am happy to report that all that I tested ran around the 6" radius curve with no problems, including a Kato 4 wheel chassis which I had previously been assured would not run round. I also tested an N gauge Farish 04 which worked fine as well - I had not been planning on using this for a narrow gauge chassis, but it is still nice to know that I could if I wanted to.

I have also made some progress on 009 rolling stock
I have done some work on the Snailbeach hopper I built from a kit. On this wagon the hopper body is assembled from 8 parts, which left quite a gap along the horizontal joints. I filled this with typing correction fluid (a trick I learned from reading aircraft modelling magazines), but have still to sand it down.
I did some painting on quite a few 009 wagons, my scratch built 2 plank open is now fully painted.
Finally I made a start on 3 more wagon kits - 2 open wagons and one hopper wagon, all Colin Ashby kits. Assembling these 'production line' style by doing the same job on all 3 together has resulted in quick assembly, After only 2 evenings I have completed the body and chassis on all 3.

One other thing I did whilst I had my soldering iron out whilst track laying was to solder some of my etched brass brakewheels to brake staffs. I had previosly tried to use the wire from DG couplers, but this did not work well as it was too thin. This time I used Peco track pins, which fit the wheels after opening out the central hole slighty. These wheels will be used on the side of my 009 grain hopper wagon, and also on any of my HOn30 flat cars (they will also go on my boxcars, but will need a longer wire).



As this will most prbably be my last update this year I have decided to do something a bit different and create a round up of progress to date on my layouts, both those covered by the site and also others I am also working on.
From this you will see that, although I have made quite good progress in many area, not all of this has been on those layouts which are currently covered by this site.

Progress on layouts covered by the site;

Skowhegan & Athens Railroad, HOn30, Timesaver

Even when concentrating on one layout progress is still not that easy as that to quantify, as the rolling stock is used for two layouts. When I though further about this I decided that I could easily fit it all onto one board, using a kick back siding to a fiddle yard at the rear. This would have the advantage of removing a baseboard joint and all the problems that it could cause. The layout has actually gone backwards! The reason for this was that I initially planned one board for the main yard plus one extra for a fiddle yard. Even here I could have just attached the extra board length to what I had as one unit, but a further problem was that I had cut large holes in the board for KD magnets before deciding to use DG couplers which would only need 5mm holes for electromagnets. As these holes were causing problems with one set of points I made the decision to begin on a fresh board so removed all the track I had laid so far. From this point I got no further! All the points and cut to length track have been kept safe, even to the extent of ordering new points for my local model shop when planning a 009 layout, so they can theoretically be relaid quickly when I prepare a replacement board. The rolling stock has seen much more progress over the year. All stock is either scratch built, kit built, or else modified from the bodies of HO or N scale cars. I currently have 28 cars under construction. Of these 10 are fully operable (have wheels and couplers, although may still need detailing or painting) and 5 more are just in need of couplers to make them so.

RiversideYard, On30, Inglenook Sidings

This layout is one on which no activity has taken place this year. Quite unfortunate as it is the one after which the site is named! Even the term 'layout' is not really appropriate, as it is only a collection of rolling stock. I have 4 cars at various stages of construction from Chivers kits, plus a futher chassis that is scratch built. I may continue with this stock next year to get something running - I now have several small HO scale locomotives which could be converted for suitable motive power - but I am no longer as keen on the very short rolling stock as I was and looking back I would have prefered to have bought the longer Chivers kits.

Lakewood, HOn30, Inglenook Sidings

This layout uses exactly the same rolling stock as my Skowhegan & Athens layout above, so I will not cover it again here. The layout has progressed over the year. All the trackwork is down and electrical wiring on the main board completed - for this layout the points are electrically operated and the uncouplers are electomagnetic. The layout can be operated, but the uncouplers are temporarily wired to pins on the front of the layout (which will eventually be a scenic area) and the points need to be operated manually. One of the buildings, the freight depot, has been started but no photos available as yet. The next step to for this layout will be to build a control panel to operate the points and uncouplers. The wiring to a multi pin connector is already in place ready for this. I decided to make this a separate panel such that the layout could be operated from either side. As regards the scenery, I first need to bring the backdrop around the sides of the layout after which I can the build up the terain with plaster bandage and rock castings.

Other layouts and rolling stock I have been working on, but which currently do not have sections on the site;

Not yet named, 009, Terminus to fiddle yard layout

This is the first photograph on the site of this new layout. I have been slowly building up my fleet of 009 rolling stock for several years, and felt that I was to the point where I had enough completed to be ready for a layout. The rolling stock I have been building is a mixture of wagons modified from HO or N gauge bodies, wagons built from kits and others scratch built on Peco chassis. The layout will be freelance, so I have not attempted to follow any prototype accurately, rather just tried to develop a fleet of wagons the would look good running together. To this end the majority of the wagons will be painted in the same colour scheme (grey with black metalwork) but with some painted differently to represent wagons bought from other lines but no yet repainted or wagons in private ownership. The layout is build on a surfaced chipboard shelf. This was convenient to use, although I have since found it is very difficult to get track pins in - far more difficult that with plain unsurface chipboard. I have added a lowered section at the rear. This is in readiness for a removable cassette to allow me to swap stock and also turn trains. The 'on board' fiddle yard will be just one track. The track at the rear of the board shows where this will go - although that part of the track is temporary. Eventually there will be a point at the end of the curve to allow access to either the cassette or the single fiddle yard track. Since taking the photograph I have completed laying the cork underlay, so I am now able to complete the trackwork. Once that is complete I will add the backdrop and start on the scenery and buildings. I do not yet have a name or exact location for the layout, but do have a rough idea of where it will be set. The reason for this is that I am building the stock ready for a future and somewhat larger layout set in Malham in the Yorkshire Dales in North Yorkshire, connecting to both the LMS and Leeds-Liverpool cancal at Gargrave. The rolling stock will therefore be lettered with a name suitable for this planned layout.

Not yet named, 09/On15, Inglenook Sidings

I managed to pick up another distaction, that of modeling 15" gauge railways in O scale, after finding a forum dealing with this scale/gauge combination. To date I have completed 2 scratch built freelance wagons - one a 4 wheeler and one an 8 wheeler - and have another 3 in a reasonable state of completeness awaiting chassis. All wagons will use DG couplers for fully automated delayed action uncoupling. To operate this stock I am planning a small layout representing an estate railway, the initial layout will probably be an Inglnook Sidings type trackplan representing sidings entering a shed. For motive power I will build a small diesel on a Bachmann chassis. If this layout is succesful then I will probably plan a slightly larger layout with passenger facilites and a short run to allow the trains somewhere to run.

Not yet named, N gauge, Inglenook Sidings

In addition to all the scratch built and kit built stock for the layouts above I also still have a fleet on N gauge ready-to-run stock from a previous N gauge layout, mostly Peco. I have just recently worked out a method to convert this stock to allow automatic uncoupling over electromagnets or hinged permanent magnets (Peco do sell a kit to do this, but I managed to do it with just one Peco track pin per wagon). As I also have suitable N gauge locomotives I have developed a full sized plan for an Inlenook Sidings type layout just 24" long. The only thing I am currently short of to build this layout is 2 points, so keep an eye on the updates to this site for it being started.

Early next year I plan to reorganise this site to add pages for those layouts not currently covered. For those layouts already covered I plan to reorganise the pages to concentrate on the ones where progress has been made and for which I am close to having an operating layout.



Finally some more progress on my 009 layout this week.
Having been undecided as to whether or not to use cork underlay or to lay the track directly on the board, I made the decision to go with the cork. On previous layouts I have, for the curves, cut the cork to half the track width and curved it as required whilst glueuing it to the board. As this layout would have a 6" radius curve I decided to cut the curve from a larger piece of cork which I could glue straight to the board.
I also did a quick test as to whether or not PVA would glue the cork to the surface of the board I am using or if I would need to use contact adhesive. This seemed to indicate that whilst not as solid as if used on plain chipboard it would still do a good enough job, in any case the track will be pinned firmly down.
The final thing I was undecided about was the spacing between the two parallel tracks in the station - I had not decided whether to lay the crossover points back to back or else to add a short stright piece of track between them to increase the spacing between stock. Having now tried the points on the board I have decided to add 3/4" straight track to give a little extra width wise spacing without taking up too much ectra length.

Current progress is that I have drilled holes for point rodding, uncoupling magnets and wiring and have glued down the cork for the curved track and for half of the passsing loop through the station. I will try and get some photographs up soon.

Some progress also on my 009 rolling stock. Limited this week to painting on the 2 plank open (exterior painted grey, awaiting black ironwork) and also started painting the Ex WHR Open. Up to date photograhs of both these wagons shown below.

More significant progess on my 09/On15 rolling stock
#1, 4 wheel flat wagon: I have trimmed the headstock and fitted the second coupler to this wagon. I have also filled the gap in the headstock so that the coupler appears part of the chassis rather than attached from below in a way that would weaken the chassis if a real wagon were built that way. Still needs the coupler trip pin trimming to length and paintwork on the chassis touching up. See updated photo below.
#3, 4 wheel end plank flat wagon: On this wagons I have added the coupler pads and trimmed the headstocks ready for the arrival of the chassis I have on order. I have also added the Grandt Line NBW castings to the ends. On this car, unlike car #1, I drilled the headstock 0.85mm for the castings. On the previous wagon I had tried to trim the pin from the back of the casting (thinking that would be easier overall), but due to the size of these it was difficult to do and easy to end up with a casting that would not lie flat. By drill the holes on this wagon I could leave a small pin on the back of the NBW and the drop it into the hole for glueuing. Having now done both methods I think drilling gives the best effect, and is not that much more work. Additionally I have started preparing one of the two end planks
#4, 4 wheel double bolster wagon: I have also added coupler pads and cut the headstocks on this wagon.
#5, 8 wheel bulkhead flat wagon: No progress on the wagon itself this week (still needs the solebars trimming to fit), but I have started on the planks for the bulkhead ends. These will be 3 planks at each end, attached to supports built from sections of rail.

I have also started experimenting to see if I can easily modify a Peco N gauge coupler to uncouple over an electomagnet. I do know that Peco sell a kit to convert these couplers, but I also seem to remember an article about someone acheiving the same thing with a steel pin. I have tried one arangement of steel wire which did work reasonably well, I plan to try another to see if I can improve on this. I will add a progress update in a future week.

If I can get this working sufficiently well then that opens up the possiblity a building a small Inglenook Sidings layout for British N gauge for which I already have a locomotive, rolling stock (the first N gauge wagons I ever owned from many years ago) and points.



Only a little progress this week, mainly on the rolling stock

On my 009 rolling stock just one wagon worked on this week, the scratch built 2 plank open. I have now added the second coupler to this wagon, this now takes the number of operable 009 wagons I have to 10. I have also fully painted the interior and have added the first coat to the exterior.

Also some more progress on my O9 rolling stock;

The 4 wheeler flat wagon is now fully painted, both deck and chassis. Before I did this I filled the gap in the headstocks where the couplers were fitted. Difficult to describe - and the photos I took do not really show it - but because the headstocks are deep on this model they had to be cut to about half their depth for the DG couplers. As the couplers are only thin brass they do not fill this hole, and a gap is left below after fitting. I filled this gap, a piece of 40 thou square strip just fitted, and after sanding and painting this left the effect that the couplers were fittend through a slot in the headstocks rather that a large gap which on the prototype would have weakened a major structural component of the chassis.

On the remaining two 4 wheeler wagons I am also building (single end plank wagon and double bolster wagon) I have added the packing for the chassis. The Peco chassis to complete these wagons, plus one further one, are on order. Hopefully they will have been delivered to my local model shop when I go in sometime early this week.

I have taken updated photographs of the wagons I have been working on, but they are still in the camera awaiting downloading and processing, hopefully by next week I should be able to add them to the site.

I have also, by way of yet another distraction, I been giving some though to an N gauge uncoupler to use with old Bachmann US stock. Whilst much of the newer N gauge US rolling stock comes with magnetic couplers fitted I have many old cars that do not, and I have a plan for an Inglenook Sidings type layout for 5 cars + 1 locomotive in an industrial setting. I am not sure if a mechanical uncoupler for these is a feasible idea or not. The idea is for a ramp to raise between the rails to push up the trip pin on just one coupler (if both are raised then they will not uncouple). The problem I see with this idea is that if the ramp catches the wheel rim, or the axle, or pushes the coupler too high, then the stock could very easily be derailed by it. Has anybody had an experiences of building one these uncouplers, or using the Peco one?
If this does not seem to be working out then one of the options I could use would be to add Kadee couplers to the cars, either replace the trucks or add the couplers body mounted. Another option would be to fit DG couplers - I do not think many people fit DGs to US stock, but they would be cheaper than buying Kadees and would also maintain compatibilty with all the other rolling stock I have for 9mm gauge track.



This week I prepared some more DG couplers. Using the solderless method of construction really does speed this up. Although I refer to it as solderless it is only the loops which I do not solder, I still add a fillet of solder to add strength to the bend of the buffing plate, however that is a simple task and takes comapatively little time to do.

Some more progress on my 009 stock this week, I nnow have 2 more wagons now completed sufficiently to be operated;
2 plank open wagon: I have trimmed the headstock and added a coupler to one end of this wagon.
High side open wagon (Ex Welsh Highland Railway):2 coupler pads fitted, headstocks trimmed and both couplers fitted. This was the last wagon I started, but already it has a chassis and couplers so can be operated on the layout.
Plywood side/steel end van:This vehicle has also had couplers added to both ends. I also made a decision about the roof - I decided to sand the ribs off the original roof. I will later add a canvas roof effect to this van as per the others in my fleet (mostly Parkside Dundas kits), should help to give an appearance of a unified fleet of vans even though the sizes and styles of the individual wagons are quite different.

Also some progress on my O9/On15 rolling stock;
4 wheel flat wagon: I have added coupler pads plus one coupler to the wagon. I have also cut the plank ends and lightly distressed the surface of the deck (I will add a more severe effect to some of the other wagons I am building). I also added further bolt castings to the solebars to represents bolts holding the pedestals supporting the axles. This wagon is now ready for its second coupler and then to be painted.
Other flat wagon base vehicles: Some more progress on the batch of 3 further wagons I am building, mainly cut plank gaps and trimming and adding solebars. 2 chassis are now complete to this stage, the third - an 8 wheeler - just needs the solebars chamfering before fitting. Additionaly I have started to prepare the planks the will for the bulkhead ends on this wagon.

I did not realise until after I had checked that whilst I am building these extra wagons I do not have any spare Peco chassis for the 4 wheelers. I checked at my local model shop and they did not have any in stock so I have ordered 3 which should arrive by the start of next week.

I am already planning which O9 wagons to start building next. If I can locate a suitable tank then I may build an 8 wheel tank wagon. If not then I think I will make a start on a pair of single bolster wagons which will be based on a shortened version of what has become my standard 4 wheel chassis.

No new photographs this week, but hopefully by next week I should have pictures of the newly operable 009 wagons and also some more painted O9 wagons.



O9 rolling stock - I made a decision on the colour for this stock, and have decided to go with green. I have fully painted the deck and chassis of the 8 wheeler. I have also prepared and attached the chassis to the 4 wheeler. See photogtraphs below for progress on these two models. Additionaly I have started some more wagons to the same basic design. For these I am building them in a batch, doing all similar tasks for each together. There are 3 wagons which will be; 4 wheeler with single plank ends, 4 wheeler with double bolsters, and an 8 wheeler with bulkhead ends. Currently I have decking cut and prepared for all, full chassis for one and headstocks only for the other two.

009 rolling stock, 2 wagons progressed this week - Plywood side van: Completed painting grey. Chassis prepared and attached. Now needs just roof and couplers
Plywood sided van: I have prepared and attached the chassis (a Peco N gauge 10' chassis, cut to increase the wheelbase) and the body, although not the roof, is now painted. I am currently undecided as to whether to paint the roof as it, of else sand off the ribs and add tissue so that it appears more like the other vans in my fleet. See photograph below.
Open wagon (Ex Welsh Highland Railway): A new wagon which I started this week, built from a Parkside Dundas kit. I plan to build this as per the instructions. I currently have the body and chassis completed, next to do will be couplers and paint.

I found an interesting article about building DG Couplers without solder and have been trying this out. The author used soft iron wire, but I used the steel wire supplied with the couplers (I had already ordered extra to use for handrails, as on my 009 brake van) and found that this did the job fine. I am not sure as to whether or not it is still a good idea to solder the buffing plate for strength after bending, but even if I do this is only a quick task, and not having to solder the loops and droppers will save considerable time.

I have also made more progress on the baseboards for my new, yet to be named, 009 layout. On this I have determined to track locations and marked them all on the board using the pointwork as templates. I now need to decide exactly which magnets I will be using for uncoupling so that I can begin to drill holes. If the magnets were really strong then they may operate through the board, although I am expecting to have to drill holes for them.

Progress on my 009 rolling stock was limited to two wagons this week.
Brake Van: On this vehicle I have assembled the sides on the chassis (see photo below). This was made more complex by the grabs that I had added (not part of the standard kit instructions), these passed though the body right where in should have joined the chassis resulting in quite a bit of trimming being need to make things fit - such is the fun of not following the instructions!
I plan to further deviate from the instructions by adding a chimney to the roof, probably from brass tube, to indicated the prescence of a stove.
Plywood Sided Van: This vehicle received a coat of grey paint. I had been uncertain about this, having been unable to remove most of the hand lettering and paint that was on when I bought it from a swapmeet. Fortunately the new paint seems to have covered the old so that it is not visible. Tasks remaining for this vehicle are painting the roof and then attaching the chassis and couplers.

In O9/On15 I have now completed the main bodywork on both of the first two wagons I am building, see the two photos below. Note that the 4 wheel wagon is still sat on an uncut Peco 10ft chassis in the photograph, which is why the wheelbase looks a bit short for the size of wagon.
Since taking the photographs I have completed the chassis for both vehicles and have also painted the deck on the 8 wheeler.
I have not yet decide what colour to paint the chassis on these wagons. I had considered either brown and grey, although I am now leaning towards green on the reasoning that this would be different from both my HOn30 stock and my 009 stock.

I also, finally, begun construction on the baseboard for my 009 layout. This started life as a shelf 12"x36". I cut this down by 6", and then also added a lowered section to the rear for the removable stock casettes. This new rear section was about 2", resulting in a new overal size for the board of 14"x30".
When I was just about to cut the extra 6" from the board I had a sudden thought, and rather than cut the excess off as one I cut it in 4 strips of 1.5". This then gave me 4 bases ideal for building into stock cassettes.
Next task here will be to lay out the pointwork on the board to determine the excact location of all trackwork. I will try and get a photograph of the layout when I am doing this in readiness to add a new 009 section to the site.



Some minor progress on my HOn30 rolling stock - just the preparation of the second truck for my drop centre flatcar. This is now awaiting final attachment to the car. Next to do will be adding the couplers, which will only leave the fitting of a brake wheel to complete the car

No significant progress on my 009 stock this week, but I have completed a gallery page for all the stock I am building which is linked from the homepage. I will aim to keep this page updated as stock construction continues.

I am, finally, just about to start building the boards for my 009 layout. I have now come to a decision on the width. Last week I was still undecided as to whether to use the planned 12" wide board or change this to a board 15" wide to allow a larger raduis curve. I have now decided to do both! What I am actually planning to do is to still use the 12" wide board, but then attach a 3" wide board which I have below the main board so that it sticks out 2". The result of this will be a 14" overal width, but also the rear portion will be one board thickness lower which will actually be very helpful when installing the removal casette fiddle yard. Using the exta width I can also have one fixed long siding accessed from a point in addition to the casette.

And finally, what does a person do when it becomes obvious that he is building rolling stock in so many different scales that he does not have the time or the space to complete layouts to run all of them? Well, simple really, he starts some wagons in a new scale! At least that is what I do.

It was just whilst I was browsing around the internet I found details of O9 layouts (Using O scale on 9mm gauge track to represent 15" gauge) a decided to try a few freelance wagons just to see how they turned out. I have started two wagons, both are flat wagons but one is a four wheeler (based on a Peco chassis) and the other is an eight wheeler (based on a Bachmann chassis). I had been planning to start off using a real wood decking on these wagon, but in the decided that for the first experimental build I would use scribed plasticard. I am try to get the decking on the two different chassis type to be around the same height.

The actual wagons work out around the same size as 009 wagons would, as the proprtions are very dependant upon the gauge of the track they will run on. I will try to ensure that they look different from such smaller scale stock by the addition of larger scale details. I have just tested the 8 wheel wagon and found that it will happily run around 5" radius curves. I have not yet got the couplers on the 4 wheeler so can not test that one yet, although I am not sure that it would handle such sharp curves. Keep an eye on the site for photographs of these wagons.

If these first two wagons work out then I will try one with real wood deck and then decide which method to use for any further stock. Using the same basic flat wagon as a basis I can build a bulkhead flat, a double bolster wagon, open wagons with low, medium or high sides, and also a tank wagon. And that is before I consider vans, hoppers, stake wagons, drop centre wagons etc. Watch this space!



Some more progress on my 009 rolling stock this week;
Grain wagon: I have completed the roof hatch detail. The only detailing now required prior to painting is to add a hand wheel to the side to operate the discharge hopper.
2 plank lowside open: All the steel strapping is now complete on this wagons. Next to do will be trimming the headstocks for coupler fitting and then painting.
Plywood Sided Van: I have now added the solebars to the body. These have been spaced so that they will hold the chassis (Peco 10ft N gauge chassis, cut in two to increaase the wheelbase) in alignment when it is fitted. I still have not managed to strip the old paint from this van body - modelstrip did not touch it at all - so I will have to determine if I can paint over what is there, or else if it will need to be carefully sanded by hand first.
Brake Van: The grabs are now fitted and glued all round. I have also trimmed back the chassis where it joins to the body (the grabs I added extend through the body at this point for glueing). The next stage for this wagon is to work out how I will be attaching the glazing as this will affect the body construction and painting sequence. I am also considering adding a chimney to the roof on the assumption that a van of this type would have been fitted with a stove.

I Still have not started the baseboards for my new (and still unnamed) 009 layout. I do have the raw materials available, but am still undecided about the board width. I had previously planned to use a 12" wide board, which would result in a 5" radius curve from the station to the fiddle yard. I do know, having thouroughly tested this, that my Bachmann Plymouth based loco and my rolling stock will run happily round this radius. However I am also thinking about future projects - at some time I may wish to build a locomotive on a chassis that would not run around these curves. I am therefore now considering using a 15" wide board, this would the allow a 7" radius curve which whilst not that much bigger may well be the difference between a chassis being usable or not.

Here are some more of the photographs I have been taking of my 009 rolling stock. I will shortly add a page to the site show all of these wagons, in advance of pages to cover the layout.

Car #4 Constructed from a Parkside Dundas kit for an ex WD open. Currently fitted with N gauge couplings for a previous layout, these will be changed to DGs		Car #5 An early attempt at scratch building using a plasticard body on a Peco chassis. Still needs the interior painting and couplers.		Car #6 Another Parkside Dundas kit, this time for a Snailbeach hopper wagon. Build as per the instructions and still needing paint/couplers

I did not do an update to this blog last week, as I took a few days off for the school holidays. I did make further progress on the layout though, so a bumper update for this week!

First on my HOn30 layout, Lakewood. In case anyone though that I had forgotten that this layout was still partly built I have made some further progress. What I actually did was soldering plugs and sockets to the layout wiring and a connecting cable, so that I can now begin to construct a proper detachable panel for control of the points and uncouplers - currently uncouplers are temporarily operated by pins and wires on the layout itself and point motors can not be operated at all.

Some further progress also made on my 009 stock;
Brake Van - I have now completed the grabs on both ends, and those for the sides are fitted but not yet glued in place. The chassis will need slight modification, as the grabs will poke through the body at the same location as the body attaches to the chassis.
2 plank lowside wagon - I have now completed the corner plates and am ready to add the rest of the steel strapping, after which the body will be ready for painting
Plywood sided van - I have added the headstocks to the body and am in the process of trimming and fitting the solebars. These will be spaced to allow fitting of a Peco chassis which will be cut to extend the wheelbase to suit the longer body.
WD open wagon - This wagon currently has N gauge bogies and couplers, which were fitted for a previous layout. I still have the correct 009 bogies which I plan to refit. These bogies are too low to allow a DG coupler to be fitted underneath and be at the correct height so I have tried to bend a step into a coupler. My first attempt was not succesful - the step I added was to small so the coupler was still too low - but now I know to allow more height I think it should be easy to do. This kind of stepped coupler will also be needed for my Snailbeach style hopper wagon, which also has a lower than normal chassis.

I have also been buying quite a few items, mostly for my 009 stock and layout;
I now have the remaining 3 009 points I needed for this layout. I now need a board to put it all on!
I also bought some paint for the coaches I am building - both red and maroon as I have not yet decided which colour to use.
I have placed an order for a Kato pocket line tram chassis. This could be some time as it is on back order.
Whilst at the L&Y exhibition at Rawtenstall I bought a Knightwing diesel loco body kit. I plan to reduce the length of this and mount it on either a Bachmann plymouth chassis I already own, or else on the Kato chassis I have on order.


Some further progress on my 009 rolling stock this week;
Grain wagon - I have completed and attached the underfloor hopper. I have also almost completed the roof hatch, although this does still need a little detailing. When that is complete I plan to add a wheel the the side of the wagon to control the hopper, after which the model will be ready for painting.
Scratch built 2 plank open - I have started the corner strapping on this model using 10th platicard sheet with rivet detail embossed, currently this is about half complete. When this is done I will add the coupling so the the model can be operated.
2 plank open with curved end - This was a wagon I built from a kit some time ago, but only got as far as adding one coupler. I have now added the second coupler to create an operable model. This now brings the number of operable 009 wagons to 7 (with at least 12 more just needing couplers).
Brake Van - On this model I am adding extra grab handles to those carried by the prototype. I cut bent wires and drill holes for all the grabs mounted on the ends of the wagon, although most still need to be glued in place. I have also made a start with the grabs on the sides, but have currently only bend and drilled one of the four needed.

I have also made a start on photographing the 009 cars under construction, in preparation for future pages on this site which will cover the rolling stock and layout. The following are the thumbnail images for the first 3 wagons.

Car #1 Constructed from a Parkside Dundas kit for a Snailbeach wagon. Painting the black ironwork has yet to be completed		Car #2 Scratch built wooden flat wagon body on a 009 chassis. Needs brake gear detail.		Car #3 Based on a Ninelines kit for a Soutwold wagon, but narrowed to a similar width to my other stock. This wagon now has couplers at both ends.

This coming weekend I am planning to visit the Lancashire & Yorkshire MRG exhibition at Rawtenstall. Looks like there will be quite a few layouts attending this show. Hopefully trade support will be good, and whilst there I will be able to pick up some needed supplies, including the Peco points I need to be able to start track laying.



Some (limited) progress on my HOn30 stock this week, in that I have added one truck to the drop centre flatcar. This requred a different method of fitting to that I normally use because I wanted to retain the 6 wheel trucks from the original N scale car.

Also some progress on my 009 rolling stock;
- 2nd coupler fitted to a van (Ex GVT style). This wagon now has a completed chassis and can be operated on the layout.
- Some more work on the grain wagon. Framing started on the roof for the hatches, and also work started on the discharge hopper
- Further preparation and wire bending on the brake van kit

I have also added the second DG coupler to the Bachmann chassis I am using for my first locomotive. This loco can now run around stock and operate the layout - only the small matter of needing a body to complete!

I also did some testing on uncoupling magnets for the new layout. On the previous layout I started, which was also designed to use DG couplers, I used electomagnets for uncoupling. On this layout, due to the greater number of uncouplers needed, and also the fact that many would need to be under pointwork, I wanted to try use hinged permanent magnets.
I was initially uncertain as to how powerful a magnet would be needed to operate the couplers. This week I ran a quick test, using a small fridge magnet. The results of this were that I found that these magnets have more than enough strength to operate from below the sleepers, in fact they would also work from beneath thick cork underlay.
Now that I know that cheaper, smaller, magnets will work I just need to determine a method to hinge and operate them.



I have done some more work on the 009 fleet of rolling stock I am building, mainly concentrating on 3 wagons this week.

The body of the Snailbeach hopper has now been attached to the chassis. This wagon now need the steel strapping attaching, which due to the design of the wagon runs between the body and chassis rather than staying on the body side. The kit includes plastic strip for this part. The next step will be the couplers - these may be tricky to fit as the chassis is lower than on other wagons, therefore if the couplers are attached to the underside they will be too low. I may have to create some couplers with a step built in for this wagon.

On the 2 plank open I am scratch building I have completed the body except for detailing (metal strapping, brake lever etc). I have also trimed mist of the brake gear and the coupling pockets from a Peco N scale chassis and attached this to the body

I have also started building a brake van from a Parkside Dundas kit. The chassis is assembled, but at the moment the body is still being detailed. On this model I plan to add extra wire grab handles over those suggested in the kit (as my line is freelance anyway I do not need to stick to historical accuracy). The problem with this is that I need to bend up 4 grabs, 2 for each end, ensuring that they do not turn out too different from each other so as to make the wagon look odd, I then need to drill all the holes to ensuring they are all mounted straight.

A few more thoughts on the layout before I finally buy the wood for the baseboard. When checking the DIY store during the week I found that the shelving I am intending to buy is available in 12" and 15" widths. If I used the 15" then with the extra width I could use points at the rear of the layout and add a regular 3 track fiddle yard rather than a single track removable cassette.
I did consider this for some time, but am currently of the thought that I will probably stick with a 12" wide board and a cassette. This will keep the layout small - it is supposed to be minimum space after all - and also by sticking with the idea of building numerous reversible cassettes I will not only be able to store more trains, but will also be able to reverse them, thus increasing the operationg potential.



Some more progress on my 009 rolling stock this week. Firstly, getting back to the fun bit (from my point of view) I have been scratch building a wagon. This will be a 2 plank lowside open wagon to fit a Peco N scale 10ft wheelbase chassis. I currently have 2 sides attached to the floor, but as yet only one side. It has been a pleasant reminder as to how quickly scratch built British outline 009 vehicles go together compared to US outline HOn30 freight cars - will need to get quite a few more chassis bought in readiness!
I have also done some more construction on a Snailbeach hopper wagon kit. I had previously constructed this only as far as the chassis. I have now completed the body. The next step will be to combine the two, after which just couplers and paint will be needed to finish.

I have also started building a station ready for the 009 layout. I am using a Wills Station Platform Shelter kit but modifying it as I build it. The original kit is for a wooden structure to be used as a platform shelter only with another building for the main station. I am moving the door and window from the inside of the building to the front wall, where they can form a ticket office, as opposed to the waiting room for which the kit was originally intended.

I am continuing to plan the layout for all this 009 stock and buildings. One of the great advantages of a small layout is that you can easily draw plan full size. In fact, with a smaller layout it is probably essential that you do, as a small change in the length of a siding or a loop can dramatically afect operation of the layout.
Using the knowlege that my stock will hapily run around 5" radius curves, and planning to use a removable cassette at the rear of the layout for a fiddle yard, I have fit my full sized track plan into an area 12" x 30".

I will probably build the layout on a cut down 12" x 36" chipboard shelf. I had considered using foam core board for lightness, but two points seem to be going agains this. Firstly it seems to cost twice as much as the chipboard shelf. Secondly, when I tested a 5" radius curve I had to pin the Peco 009 track on every third to get a smooth curve - I do not think it would be possible to achieve this by glueing track to foam board.



I have done some work on the rolling stock I am building in both 009 and HOn03.

In 009 I have built another Colin Ashby Hopper car kit. I have also added one coupling to a van which I built some time ago, and had initially equiped with Kadee couplers. This was build from a Parkside Dundas kit, and have several of these to build as it will be the standard van for my fleet.
I also located a Peco N Gauge wagon chassis and plan to build a freelance 2 plank lowside wagon on this.

Working on my HOn30 stock I added the bolsters to the drop centre flatcar I am building. This called for a change to my normal procedures, as using my standard sized bolster resulted in the trucks catching on the underframe. To prevent this I need to add packing above the bolster before attaching them.
The need for packing is slightly ironic, in that using my own bolsters rather than the original N gauge ones was done so as to reduce the overal ride height. Having said that the car should still ride lower than it did originally

Why am I planning a 009 layout? This is something I have been asked, and is a good question considering that I am nowhere near completing my HOn30 layout!
The main reason behind this is that I actually prefer building rolling stock to building layouts. That explains why I have 10 operating HOn30 cars, with 15 more under construction, for a layout which can only be run with 8.
The reason for a 009 layout is that I am also building a fleet 009 rolling stock at the same time - and simply want somewhere to run what I have built. The reason for small layouts is that I stand some chance of getting the layout to a level where it can be operated.



I have now constructed the body of the Parkside Container kit I bought last week. Having built the body I was then able to check the width against my other 009 stock. I found that the container is only slightly wider than most of my stock, so I could go with either of my original thoughts, i.e. to build it as a slighly larger 009 wagon, or else build a flat wagon to carry it as a container.

I also did some testing for my planned 009 layout. I was keen to know what minimum radius my stock would run round. Usually the short wagon will handle a very sharp curve, an uncoupled locomotives less so, but the most critical can be locomotives connected to wagons due to a long overhang between the last axle and the couplers.
I ran a test using a spiral of spare track on an old board. From this I found that I could run a loco (Bachmann N gauge Plymouth chassis) and 5 wagons comfortably round a 5" radius curve.
Having proved this I can now plan a layout on a 12" wide board, with a station at the front and a reverse curve to a fiddle yard behind.



This weekend I visited a collectors fair and bought some items which I plan to use for 009 rolling stock.
Firstly were two old style short coach bodies in OO. These unpainted red plastic, possibly Hornby? They were sold without wheels or roofs, but at the price they were just how I wanted them as I would not need those parts. I plan to separate the sides from the ends/chassis, build new narrower ends, add a roof and a chassis which should result in two olsd style 009 bogie coaches.
I also picked up an old diesel shunter body, Lima I think. Plans for this are to cut it down in size and mount it on an N gauge chassis. The body is looking rather large, but I will give it a go and see how it turns out, it was cheap enough to risk it rather than not buy it and later wish I had.
The final thing I bought was a Parkside wooden container, as used by the LNER around 1930. Not sure how I will use this as yet. I will either build it as a container, paint it in LNER blue, and build a 009 wagon to carry it as a container transferred from the standard gauge, or else I may use it as a wagon body by adding a chassis.

Will this 009 stock ever be run? Well yes, possibly, as I have plans forming in my head for a minimum space 009 layout. This will be a terminus to fiddle yard, with enough pointwork for some operation. I have still to determine the actual layout size, but the length will be around 30" - 36" and width 9" - 12". Watch this space for more details as my plans come together!



Despite the description of the homepage saying this is a weekly blog I do know that it has been quite some time since the last update!

During this quiet time I have made some progress with the scenery and buildings on my HOn30 layout and the rolling stock to run on it, although in truth not that much.

Having visited the Skipton exhibition last weekend I have now got some more needed supplies to actually get some building done. Firstly I got some 10BA bolts, which I use for attaching HOn30 trucks, so the cars which are complete other than trucks and couplers can finally be made ready for the track. I also bought the electrical switches and connectors I need to build the control panel for my Lakewood layout, so that should be able to be run with remote operation of points and uncouplers without having wires and crocodile clips everywhere.

I also bought a smaller wattage soldering iron, solder and flux for some 009 pointwork I am planning to build - the layouts I am working on are not finished yet, but that has never before stopped me from planing another one! I will add more details on this layout over the coming weeks as I develop the plans.



Again not much progress with my HOn30 Lakewood layout what with holidays and other jobs to do! Have done a little more painting on the rolling stock, a few more rock castings attached to the layout, and a bit of detailing on the freight depot.

One thing I do still need to do is order some bolts to attach the trucks, several cars need only this to become operable models.

By way of another diversion I have built a Peco O16.5 wagon kit that I have had in storage for some time. I am not planning on building a O16.5 layout at the moment, but I just felt that it would be better constructed than left unstarted in its box!

One other thing that I did do was a test for a future 009 layout, namely how steep a slope would a train go up. Using a short train of one loco (Bachmann N scale Plymouth mechanism) plus 3 wagons I could operate reliably on a gradient up to 1:12. I would expect the maximum gradient to be less on any curves, but should still not be an operation problem during layout design.

The 009 layout I am planning, mentioned before on this page, is a rabbit warren style layout with numerous tunnels and bridges. I do have plans for a more realistic terminus station for further in the future, but would like to build this layout first. Even though layouts of this style do tend to be frowned upon nowadays by many narrow gaugers I thinks they are the kind of layouts that do generate interest at exhibitions.
My plans for this layout are for a trackplan with two connected loops which can be operated as two separate circuits allowing two trains to run, or as one large circuit to allow one train to cover most of the track on the layout. There will be one station on each loop plus a halt (passing loop + basic structure only) on one of the loops. The minimum size will be 4' x 2' although I may extended that, especially the length, to allow more useful stations and also a fiddle yard. I may also attempt to automate the fiddle yard to despatch the trains in sequence - when one train enters the yard the next one automatically pulls out.



I have made a start on building the freight house. I am using Wills sheets for the claperboard siding. The freight door will be just scribed plasticard. I do not yet have a part for the side entrance door, as this must fit the opening I have already made I may just build this from scratch.
At this time I have all the walls constructed and assembled around a floor. When I say all the walls that is actually two full walls and two half sections, because due to the limited space on the layout the building will be part relief against the backdrop.

I have also made some rock castings in the new Woodlnad Scenics rock mould I bought recently. I plan to make some more - have not yet filled the entire mould - and then start to position them on the layout when I have a larger selection to work from.

A rant I know, but what is the point of maintaining a blog and not having a rant every now and again! Model railway equipment is generally built to standards such that one manafactures rolling stock or locos will run on another track. I have still frequently heard people say that to get the best running you should stick to one manafacturer, who knows if this is true or just a bit of paranoia. My problem however came from the fact that after setting the couplkers on my HOn30 stock I decided to give my 009 stock a run as well. Almost all my 009 stock has Peco N gauge wheel sets. All the points on my layout are Peco HOn30. So why do they run so badly through the points?.
Closer inspection revealed that the back to back on the wheels (a single casting with the axle so no adjustment possible) was to narrow to clear the check rails causing the stock to ride up at one side. Has anyone else had this problem? I am not what can be done about this other than try to file away the inside of the check rails - although this may reduce the reliability when running stock with a wider back to back.



I visited the Narrow Gauge North exhibition in Leeds at the weekend. Whilst I did not buy anything from any of the numerous trade stands there, I did get plenty of inspiration from seeing the layouts. Hopefully progress on my layout will now move up a gear!

What I have done on my rolling stock is one of those tedious jobs which does not immediately have anything to show but is critical for good operation, that being adjusting the height of all the couplings. Previosuly whilst test running I would often end up 'leaving stock behind', but now all completed stock is working fine.

I was hoping to pick up some 10BA bolts at the exhibition, but there were no trade stands of that type there, so I will need to order some. Once I have done this I can get quite a bit more rolling stock operational.

On the electrical side I tried using a mains adapter, which previously powered computer speakers, to operate the uncoupling magnets. I had read that using the same transformer to control the layout and operate points/uncouplers was not the best idea as it took power from the locomotives when these were trigged. The electromagnets I am using do not give a maximum current draw figure so I was not sure if the adapter would be able to supply the power, but it seems to work fine.

Other progress is that I went out today and bought another Woodland Scenics rock mould. The one I allready have makes quite large rocks, the one I bought todays makes smaller ones. Hopefully between the two I should be able to create the sizes and variety that I need.



Just a little progress on the HOn30 rolling stock this week. The side door gondola is now fully painted and awaiting its coal load. I have also begun painting the 20' all steel boxcar.

Significant progress on this site is that the previous single page for my Lakewood HOn30 layout has been expanded to an introduction page plus four further pages.



Well, it has been a while since this page had an update. Basically the part built layout got a bit 'buried' over Christmas, and whilst not totally inactive not much progress has been made since.

I have done various small tasks on various pieces of rolling stock, mainly painting and preparing bolsters. The most significant progress being on the side door gondola - this car now has sides and ends fitted, and is also mostly painted needing just the end planking to be completed. The car also has bolsters fitted so is ready to receive its trucks and couplers soon. Picture of Side Door Gondola

What I do need to get is some more 10BA bolts, which I used to attach the trucks, as I have several cars with bolster fitted but have run out of bolts. I hope to attend the Narrow Gauge North exhibition soon and would hope to get some there, if not I will get some ordered.

I have finally attached a coupler to the Bachmann Plymouth chassis so have been able to operate the layout, albeit without the point motors fully wire up. This has proved that some of the couplers need adjusting for height. I do have a height gauge so this should not be too trick a task.

As to the the layout itself, I have just attached some rock castings to the lake side and against the backdrop. Once the glue is dry on these I will be able to build the scenic base around them using cardboard or polystyrene land forms and plaster bandage.



This week I have started painting on the HOn30 side door gondola, beginning with the interior to represent unpainted wood. On this type of car only the outer sides/ends and the side sills would have been painted on the prototype.

I have also made some paper mock ups for possible cabs for the diesel I will be buliding on a Bachmann N scale Plymouth chassis. One style is a larger (wider and taller) cab replacing the original, but retaining the existing engine hood. The other style is a full boxcar to replace the Bachmann body. As both of these can be build with no major alteration to the chassis, and as the chassis is cheap to buy, I will probably build both styles although the first I build will probably be the boxcab.

I have started further web pages to extend the existing single page for the lakewood HOn30 layout into separate pages for planning, layout, structures, motive power and rolling stock.
In preparation for these I have also photographed the building mock ups I am using to check clearances.

         



Some further progress on my HOn30 rolling stock this week. I have completed painting the sides of the extended height boxcar, and have also added the sides to the side door gondola. I will paint the inner sides and the decking on this car to represent unpainted wood before adding the ends.

I have also soldered some couplers. Not my favourite job, soldering DG couplers, but whilst I had the iron out and set up I completed enough for another 8 cars so they should hopefully keep me going for a while.

I also set up a temporary 'panel' on the front of the layout to operated the uncouplers - just some pins nailed in with wires soldered to them and one lead to operate, but better than the even more tempoary solution I was using with just wires hanging out of the fron of the board!



Another slow week this week because I have been allowing myself to be distracted by other things (an unopened 1:72 Revel SPAD kit calling to be be started, and a Matchbox transit van I am converting to a Luton style body).

What I have been doing is quite a bit of work on one single HOn30 car, the side door gondola.
This car is based on the coal cars used by the Kennebec Central. The KC used 2 styles of car with slightly different heights, my car is based on the type in which the side was built from two planks of roughly equal size.
The flatcar part of the model was already built (used in some of the photographs on the Build a Flatcar page) so this week I was building the sides.
I did not have any plastic strip of the right size for the 12" planks, so cut mine from plastic sheet. I have assembled the hinges (non-working!) from 0.020" plastic rod and 0.010" x 0.020" plastic strip
Next to do will be to assemble these on to the car and then add the ends - although I may do some painting before adding the ends as the method I use to represent unpainted wood does work more easily when I can get a good 'clear run' with the brush.



Not much actual progress on the layout (again!), but I have been making a selection of rock castings for when I am ready to begin the scenery.

I have been photographing again. Layout photographs with paper buiding mock ups are still in the camera, but I have added new/updated rolling stock photographs to the site for 28' steel reefer, 20' steel boxcar and 28' drop centre flatcar

Progess on the rolling stock this weeks has been door supports added to the extended height boxcar, roof added to the steel boxcar and bodywork completed on steel gondola #4. The Gondola car can now be painted completely. I will also be starting painting the two boxcar. These still need their roofwalks starting so I can only paint the body not the roof, but I do prefer to get some paint on fairly early rather than leave them in raw plastic or in the previous cars livery.



Some seemingly 'negative progress' this week on my Skowhegan & Athens HOn30 layout this week. If you have read the pages about this layout then you will know that rather than have a baseboard joint for the sake of an extra 18" I had decided to transfer the track to a larger board. In the meantime I had moved the board out into the shed to create more space indoors. Not wanting to have the trackwork sitting in the shed all winter I made time at the weekend to remove it from the board.
The track has been removed complete with all wiring, so it should be an easy task to reassebmle it on the new board when it is constructed, and add the extra trackwork I have planned to access a behind the scenes 'fiddle track' and also an industry, probably a mine.

On my Lakewood HOn30 layout I am still at the mock up stage with the freight shed and passenger depot. I have got the floorplan dimensions of the freight shed to look right, but have now noticed that the loading platform and door would be too high for my rolling stock. Good job I otice that while I am still at the paper mock up stage. I have also decided that the passenger depot should be lengthened slightly - as I do not plan on increasing the length of the covered wooden platform this will not affect the overal planned footprint

I took time at the weekend to test run the locomotives which I could use as chassis for the layout. Of the three locos I tried an old Minitrix 8 wheeler ran the worst (although wheels and pickups were dirty so cleaning may work wonders), the next best was an Atlas 8 wheels unit, but the best for slow and smooth run was a 6 wheeler Bachmann Plymouth. That this ran best is good because, in addition to being a cheap chassis to buy, I have two or three body styles I could build on this chassis.
The first body style would be simply a larger cab on the existing body. The second would be a complete boxcab body to replace the existing one (or even built over it if it is easier to attach it that way.) The third style which may be possible would be a combination of the two - a 3/4 length boxcar body with an engine at one end - whether this would be possible would be dependant on being able to reduce the height of the chassis slightly at the front end.

I have made more steady progress on the HOn30 rolling stock with painting and small details on many cars.
I have reached a stage when many more cars are almost ready to become operable models but I need to restock with 10BA bolts to attach the trucks, and also get out my soldering iron and construct some more couplers.



I have been giving some thought this week as to how I will control the layout when it is completed. At the moment I am operating using wires hanging out of the front of the board, although in the short term I will build a quick control panel with probe & stud to operate the points and push buttons for the uncouplers. As this layout will, at least initially, be always operated at home I will build the panel to work from the front of the layout.
The thought I have been having relate to how few controls I can get away with. Particulary if, by using electronics, I could get that number down to a small enough number to include them on a hand held control unit (combined with a throttle control).
I have calculated that I could get the the required controls down to 6, or even 4, push buttons;
Using a capacitor discharged unit, DC control and a diode matrix I could remove the need for two contacts for each point and just have one button for each siding. Only three buttons would be needed on the controller, because the leftmost point would be used so infrequently it could be operated from a switch on the board itself.
The uncoupler can also be operated from buttons on the hand held unit. That would seem to need 3 buttons, but as the layout will only ever have one train moving, and it will not be possible to leave any other stock over a magnet other that that which is in the train, I think it could be possible to energise all the magnets similtaneously from one button.
Whatch this space to see if either of the above ideas make it on to the layout.

Layout: Not much actual progress to speak of this week. What I have done is to cut and trim the harbour wall from a Ratio stone wall sheet. The length of wall I need means that I had to join two sections to get the length.
I have also retired on of the building mock ups - the freigth shed was looking oversized for the location, so I built another mock up which was narrower and lower but retaining the same overall length.

Some progress also on the rolling stock, but limited to constructing the door guide facia for the extended height boxcar, plus painting on the regular boxcar, drop centre flatcar and steel reefer.
As all of my wooden bodies stock is, so far, painted various shades of brown, I plan to model another wooden boxcar which I shall paint light grey to add a little more variety.



More thought this week on the planning of my new layout, Lakewood.
How much planning can one person do on a layout only 44' long? Quite a bit it would appear!
What I am think about this time is the 'real world' connection track to the left of the layout, which is an addition to the 3 sidings + headshunt required for the Inglenook trackplan. Initially I had been going to use a rock tunnel to hide this lines exit through the backdrop as I wanted a more rural appearance than large buildings would give. What has bothered me is that none of the lines in Maine, on which I am basing the layout, had any tunnels. I have now decided that perhaps a building as a view block would be better. If I used a flat roof building right next to the track then two stories could hide a train from view, and a carefuly place tree could hide the hole in the backdrop. Also I have seen some wonderful wooden buildings on layouts, the kind that look as though they have been haphazardly added to over the years, so finding something characterful to fill a triangualr plot should not be too difficult.

During the week I also looked in on a local preserved steam railway. In addition to looking at the locos I noticed pieces of coal were scattered all over the car park. So I helped to tidy up, if each person removes one peice it will be tidy in no time, right? That piece, small by loco coal standards, will probably fill all my gondola cars which are awaiting a load.

Over the weekend I have also uploaded some new photographs of my HOn30 rolling stock photographs on the site.
I have update photographs for 23' Wood Boxcar, 23' Extended Height Boxcar and 28' Steel Reefer
Also new photographs for 20' Steel Boxcar and Rake of 3 steel gondolas
I have also added two new images of a car under construction to the build a flatcar page.

Not much actual progress on the layout this week, but what I have been doing is building paper mock ups to check the sizes of the buildings I am planning. Doing this before starting to actually build anything does allow a quick check to be made on clearances and also on sight lines, ensuring that none of the structues obscure the view of the ends of sidings or the locations of the uncoupling magnets.

Also some progress on my HOn30 rolling stock;