Re: Union Pacific in Oldham

[rjr]

Kadees

All fair points I too have seen lots of shades in the pictures I have looked at. I think my big motivation is that it doent end up looking like previous layouts. Perhaps the wrong reason. I have also been really struck by the CSX Miami look so I guess I'm hedging to the west coast and warmer climes, The main thing is I like the new colour

My Neodymium magnets arrived today, so I have spent the evening on a crash course in setting and aligning Kadee couplers, having never used them before.

After a lot of trial and even more error I finally found the best position for the magnets in relation to the couplers. I had done some internet research which had got me to the point of buying the rod magnets (3mm x 6mm) I did get to the point of wondering if I should have just bought proper Kadee magnets but as my 25 magnets only cost ?2.20 getting them to work was worth the learning curve.

And here are the working positioning, 3mm holes drilled and the magnets inserted, the big problem now is spotting them in operation.

as the coupler approaches the coupler moves to the side

I have had to straighten the headshunt as with the curve I just couldn't get the couplers to work

I have set up the magnet points

At first I thought i could just have magnets at the closest point in the picture but as the headshunt only fits loco and 1 car I had to fit magnets in the far positions to be able to slit strings of cars in the spurs to bring them back out.

John

 

[Jordan]

Kadees

I have also been really struck by the CSX Miami look ...

You're not the only one... that Mr Mindheim is a bad influence..!!!

The main thing is I like the new colour

Fair enough!!

I have had to straighten the headshunt as with the curve I just couldn't get the couplers to work

Ah, the one snag of "artistic flowing curves"... I did worry they might cause a problem with couplings when I saw them, but didn't like to say at the time... sorry!!

 

[rjr]

Float Bridge

I've spent some time working on the float bridge tonight. In prototype terms its a lift bridge, hinged on the land side suspended at the water end by a gantry, the idea being the water end can be raised or lowered to suit water level I guess.
Anyway onto my construction. Firstly I glued some strips on the underside of the barge body to achieve a level and give it smoother movement. (the current water surface will be painted and varnished so not much extra thickness)

Then the float bridge construction began in earnest into the baseboard cut out. the pictures tell a better story than me.

Barge sliding into position

In position

Concrete side walls and footings for the gantry pillars

Some ballast to blend the area in

I also did some more ballasting at the other end

John

 

[iploffy]

Union Pacific in Oldham

didn't they have something similar on the cross channel goods ferries

Ian

 

[rjr]

Barge

Today I've had the house to myself while Mrs RJR is out with the the youngest who is playing netball, so after getting some chores done it was escape to the shed

The Barge.

Rails are glued onto the surface without the sleepers / ties using super glue.  I've used this method before and its handy that the plastic sleepers can be slid off the bottom of the rail and clipped on the top to maintain spacing during gluing

Spacing to the next pair of rails is then done using 2mm (80thou) plasticard stuck in place

Plasticard is then stuck on the outer edge of the outside track to the barge edge and a further piece stuck on the side wall shimmed 10thou up from the water. This shimming is so the barge is only sliding on the 2 plasticard batterns previously stuck across the underside.

Between the rails plastic padding is applied and wiped off using a shaped template. This is to fill some of the height and further trap the flat on the bottom of the rail

Last job for the time being is a start on the gantry that will support the "wet end" of the float bridge

Pictures are not brilliant as I used my blackberry but hopefully they explain the progress

John

 

[Jordan]

Union Pacific in Oldham

I think that's the first time I've seen a car-float approach modelled with the track actually sloping down :scratch:
Hope you don't get any runaways, that's all!! Will you use an empty flat as a reach car?

 

[rjr]

Union Pacific in Oldham

Its quite gradual and nothing has run off the end during testing yet !!! And yes I plan to operate with a reach car.


With a house full of teenagers this evening, the only sensible thing to do was retreat to the shed.... Got plenty done and have realised that getting pictures of these smaller scales is considerably harder than G in the garden. But I thing I'm getting the hang of it. No list of done this, dome that Ill just let the pictures talk

Favourite picture of the evening

John

 

[Rob Pulham]

Union Pacific in Oldham

You certainly do  model at a fair rate of nots John

 

[Jordan]

Union Pacific in Oldham

Word of your layout is getting around, John...

http://forum.mtimag.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=970

I'm on that Forum (yeah, I know... another one..!!) but this was nothing to do with me this time..!!!

 

[rjr]

Union Pacific in Oldham

Its been a hectic week with one thing and another but last night I got some free time in the shed

Here is what I got up to< my layout now has too sides.

The buildings are just things I had in the "recycle me" box but they give the general Idea that there will be some low relief going on along the back behind the road

John

 

[rjr]

Union Pacific in Oldham

Progress on layout 2

Its only base colours at the moment but you get the idea?

John

 

[28ten]

Union Pacific in Oldham

I have missed all this that looks pretty good to me. you have managed to avoid the crudeness that seems to afflict so many N gauge efforts 

 

[rjr]

Union Pacific in Oldham

that looks pretty good to me. you have managed to avoid the crudeness that seems to afflict so many N gauge efforts 

That would be the cunning use of HO ! ;D

 

[28ten]

Union Pacific in Oldham

That would be the cunning use of HO ! ;D

:-[ :-[ For some reason I thought it was N  :-[ I will just crawl back into my corner 

 

[iploffy]

Union Pacific in Oldham

excuse the guv he's just had a shock don't you know

Ian

 

[marsa69]

Union Pacific in Oldham

For some reason I thought it was N

I know mate. It all looks the same below 4mm 

 

[Jordan]

Union Pacific in Oldham

... you have managed to avoid the crudeness that seems to afflict so many N gauge efforts 

Sorry, but that did make me laugh...

I have missed all this

It's Official..!! 
The Forum is now too big for even our Illustrious Leader to keep track of everything on it...!!! :vista: :scratch:

 

[rjr]

Union Pacific in Oldham

Looking at the last batch of pictures I realised the back scene's were a mess, with the remnants of former hills, and a very white look they didn't give the look of a sunnier clime.

So :
1 tub of dulux blue left over from the boys bedroom
1 tub of white poster paint
1 brush and 40mins of dabbing gives .. On the right

On the left

I think its made a significant difference, the shed certainly feels sunnier

While in an artistic mood I did some work on the storm drain, last night I had sprayed it all with some "porcelain" plasticote. First job tonight was to cut a piece of plastic to a scale 10' and then use it to mark out the drain sections with a pencil. Then some Humbrol "concrete" acrylic added to suit. This next picture shows the spray base coat only on the left and some acrylic brushwork on the right.

Stepping back, you will see more sections need brushwork

At some future point it will get overgrown with a trickle of water in the bottom and some junk?

 

[lancer1027]

Union Pacific in Oldham

Nice work mate The backscene looks fantastic

Rob :wave:

 

[Jordan]

Union Pacific in Oldham

Nah... too many clouds for UP territory...

The storm drain looks good, john; what's it's origin? (It just seems to have "appeared" here overnight ) I don't think I've seen a storm drain done before. :scratch: You do seem to have a knack of being able to chop up your baseboards almost at will, and the remains still stay flat and fixed...

I have recently been given a boatload of HO equipment by a most generous fellow modeller who was having a clearout... you have no idea how much this thread is tempting me to drop back down a scale - a dilemma I was battling with not long ago...