Construction progress

The weather over this weekend has been kind and I have been able to make some real progress on the railway with track finally in place.

The blocks all cemented in place on Saturday, once dry the track will be laid

Sunday was a beautiful day and the track laying has started with this point forming the station throat

A short video of a test train over the first section.

This is as far as I got with track laying. I was distracted at times watching the British Touring Car Championship on the TV

Hopefully I will finish the station track tomorrow (Monday) if the weather stays fine.

The first train was going to be hauled by the Ffenor loco No. 2 but it stripped its plastic gear's. A new Andel Chassis will probably be fitted to replace the sub standard IP Engineering one.

Railway Progress

I have made a bit more progress on the railway with some of the main line foundations being built.

The left hand end will only have one block before the line goes onto a trestle bridge.

The sub base of the main line curving past the shed

The blocks cut in half and placed on the sub base, now just need cementing down.

 The weather has been nice but very frosty in the mornings meaning that I cannot get on with cementing the blocks down.

The new loco 'Titch' has been fitted with switch gear and batteries and runs nicely. A coat of sanding sealer has also been applied.

Railcar build update

I have done quite a bit on the railcar(s) as the picture below shows, for a full, blow by blow account please see the Projects page.

I have also made a bit of progress on the railway itself. A layer of fine mortar has been laid and, once it is dry, track laying can at last commence.

The hole in the top right is not a problem (I ran out of mortar) as the platform will cover it.

Railcar build started

The railcar kit I got for Christmas has now been joined by a second one and they are now being prepared for painting.

All parts were unpacked and checked over. This is just one of the kits.

The next job was to remove all parts from the sprue.

This left small pips on some edges where they were joined to the sprue, they were removed with a bit of light sanding. The wooden parts where all then given a coat of Sanding Sealer and left to dry. Tomorrow they will get a light sanding and the first coats of paint will be applied.

The livery chosen is the same as on the railcar at the Nene Valley Railway.

Christmas Presents

A quick post to show you what i got for christmas. They are a displacement lubricator for the mamod plus new buffer beams and centre couplings. Also a gas powered soldering iron and an IP Engineering railcar. Loits of things to be getting on with before railway construction starts again.

Striping down the Mamod

The front end of the Mamod has been dismantled to allow the fitment of the displacement lubricator and a new exhaust steam pipe which will exit steam via the chimney. The work to complete this will not happen until over the Christmas period as the parts are part of my present from the Mother in Law. Part of the pack includes new buffer beams and couplings. I am not sure if the buffer beams will fit but the couplings will still go on even if I have to use the original beams.

The Mamod with the front and rear buffer beams removed plus the gas tank.

The front footplate has been removed by drilling out the rivets, nuts and bolts will be used to refit it. The reversing block and the cylinders have also been removed.

The cylinder mounting area showing the green gasket with the steam ways to the cylinders

An underside view. The copper pipe is the steam feed from the regulator. It will need to be shortened to fit the lubricator. 

Quick update

Just a quick update.

I have not done any modelling as my workshop is freezing cold and not suitable for use without heating. To that end I have purchased all the parts for a very cheep little room heater as explained in the following video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brHqBcZqNzE.
I will document how well it works.

I have just received a parcel from Dream Steam containing a new displacement lubricator, steam oil and a new set of multi height couplings and buffer beams for the Mamod. Unfortunately they are a Christmas gift from the Mother-in-Law so I have 3 weeks to wait before contemplating fitting the to the loco. If the room heater works then the job of stripping down the loco and replacing the pop rivets with nuts and bolts should continue next week.