Sunday morning just gone found me and the youngest Crew member home alone as the missus took the older Crew member to the flicks. In between keeping my little helper (hinderer?) out of mischief in the yard I was able to do some more work on Lachlan's layout. Didn't account for all the time in the shed but little bits here and there all add up! So the church was glued into place, the grass between the front steps and the road scrapped away and a gravel path made. I also cut the fencing off its sprue to get a feel for what needs to be done there. I also filled in the 'junk yard' behind the service station with the same reddish gravel.
Nothing done on Illavearf unfortunately. Maybe one night this week I might be able to get out to the shed and start wiring up the points to the second DS64.
I phoned Austral Modelcraft on Saturday morning to see if the NCE shipment from MRRC had arrived. Still coming in from the States. So I had Ray put one SB3a and a USB interface away for me when they arrive.
That's all folks!
This week I finally received the payment from Peco Publications for the Continental Modeller article I wrote which appeared in the August edition of this magazine. By the time the various banks between the UK and Australia took their cut of the international funds transfer I was only slightly in front of the UK payment once converted into Aus dollars. Now I had the last piece in the finances to procure the NCE SB3a booster system. My esteemed mate and fellow club member PK was also going to fossick around for the USB interface he had somewhere at home. This would allow me to connect a laptop to the layout to use Decoder Pro, etc as well as try my new Android smartphone's Engine Driver app which allows the smartphone to function as a wireless hand controller when it uses the laptop's wi-fi capabilities.
Friday evening came and didn't look pretty. Both boys had come down with some sort of nasty virus. The younger son had reached 39 degrees plus, which was a concern. I had grave doubts as to having a reasonable sleep this night! As Saturday came, the previous night hadn't been too bad, could have been a lot worse! However I spent the morning looking after the boys and taking the youngest to the doctor as his fevers where still quite high. Throat infection. Just lovely, there goes Saturday! I was hoping to get to Austral Modelcraft to buy said SB3a but it wasn't looking good. After a snooze with the youngest son, I thought I might have a chance to duck across town. Time was possibly an issue, so I made a phone call. Closing time was rapidly approaching and I probably was just going to miss it unless they waited for me. It didn't matter as they had sold the last SB3a in the store Friday afternoon. A week or two before new stock arrives from down south.
Sunday was very busy out and about in the morning, then spraying the weeds in the arvo, as well as playing with the boys (kids just don't want to stay in bed when they are sick!!) in the yard. I did manage to get to the shed and do some quick work on Illavearf's electrics. I wired up the second MRC to the programming track, programmed its board ID which then set all the accessory decoders outputs automatically, and did some LED tests. All worked first go. I then mounted the board under the layout but didn't get to install the power to it from the track. Maybe throught the week.
Tonight I received an email from PK advising he couldn't find the USB interface and he vaguely remembers selling it.
So in the end I will have to wait a couple of weeks before I get a chance to make the trip to the other side of town to pick up a new SB3a AND USB interface. No rush as I am still sorting out the wiring under the layout when I get a chance. Now that the evening temperatures are getting warmer I might be able to spend time in the shed at night. Winter was very cold (as Brisbane winters go!) this year and the shed isn't heated!
Also this week I joined the social networking set and joined Twitter. A link (of sorts) is on my website but you can directly find me on @GBsShed. I have already sent three tweets into the Twitterverse, mainly to some guys in the UK involved with Model Rail Live.
As mentioned in the previous blog, my time this week was spent on a training course. By the end of the week and after the exam I was mentally exhausted. Friday night was spent getting acquainted with a couple of beers and whiskeys. Seemed to do the trick!
The only modelling I got to do was late Saturday afternoon on my return from the club AGM. I took the British Telecom Red Phone Booth that I received last weekend out of its wrapping and placed it on the layout. I didn't actually fix it into place but just moved it around the vicinity of the station to see what would work. On the subject of the club AGM, I had competition on the VP position which subsequently went to a vote by the members. The outcome was that I am honoured to announce that I am the new VP for RMCQ for this year. Hopefully I will meet the expectations of those who voted me in as well as convince those that didn't vote for me this time round that I am a suitable candidate for next year.
Hopefully this week I can get to the shed and do some more work on my layout.
Today I received some nice gifts from the boys for Fathers' Day. A book on Hornby related stuff and a nice OO scale British Telecom Red Phone Booth which I will place near the Kensington Hill station illuminated by a street light.
Earlier in the week was the marriage anniversary. The missus gave me Tim Fisher's latest book on railways around the world. Something to read on the train.
Modelling related was limited this week due to other things getting in the way of an evening. This afternoon I got about an hour in the shed on my layout. I was able to wire in the second DS64 and set the accessory numbers, hopefully, as I have yet to wire the point motors to it!
This week I am on training at work, so the evenings will be spent studying for the exam at the end of the week, so no modelling for me. Saturday is the club's AGM and I have put myself up for nomination as Vice President. I will let you all know how that went next Sunday.
This week's modelling was a mixed bag. The week started with me finishing off the signals with their respective identifying numbers KH1 to KH4. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to do this, but after doing it they do look more realistic. Now I just have to install them. To do this I need to install the second MRC 4-way decoder. Today I found some time to mount this decoder and the second DS64 decoder to their perspex mounting boards. Now just have to wire them in, program their IDs and test.
I also had the opportunity of making the last kit, a 'supermarket', for Lachlan's layout one night as well. Now just have to finish this off with a footpath out front.
I ordered some more supplies from MB Klein from my friendly middle man PK last night. Some fencing is in the order and this will be placed around the church and if any left over the farm house.
Unsure what this week will bring. If the night time weather is mild and not too cold, I might get the opportunity to go to the shed to wire up some of the signals, lighting or point motors.
In last night's post I forgot to mention that I had a very interesting chat with Ron Everingham at the Show on Saturday concerning a style of UK coupling specific to shunting operations on small branchlines. No bulky and non-prototypical Kadees here please, or the equally bulky tension lock uncoupling devices. He uses a very thin wire arrangement known as a Alex Jackson coupling, which similarly to the aforementioned couplers, uses electromagnets to do the uncoupling.
Detail can be located at the Manchester Model Railway Society at this page http://www.mmrs.org.uk/technical/ajcoupling.htm. I think I will be doing some reading about this style of operation possibly for use with Pocklington as I am leaning towards it being a small shunting exhibition layout.
Ron suggested some minor changes to the design of the AJ coupler. He uses stainless steel fishing trace wire (11 thou) instead of piano or guitar wire. He also uses a wire loop arrangement around each axle (non bogie types) instead of the stated fixture anchor point. I should have taken a photo of the arrangement but completely forgot about it. I will just have to remember to do that when next I see Ron exhibiting his Broxburn Sidings layout.
I also failed to mention that I did my annual big spend with Horizon Hobbies at the show. I bought a $14.95 Silvermaz NSWGR S truck kit to have a go at. It will join the RU hopper bought last year in the kits drawer, waiting for an opportunity to be made.
During the week that was we had a public holiday for the annual Brisbane Exhibition (Ekka) on Wednesday. I made the most of this day off by starting with going to the club early (~0700) to get stuck into finishing the signal kits that I wanted to make for the Kensington Hill side of Illavearf. I did this and they came up very well. Just the identification numbers to add and then I can install them. Later on the morning I spent some time with Lachlan on his layout doing more grass work.
Saturday was the annual RMCQ model train and hobbies show. I took Lachlan down to have a look and help out if needed. Some very nice layouts, some new and some revisiting, were there. I particularly liked Moelfryn which is a superb OO9 scale layout of a Welsh narrow gauge railway.
PK took a video which can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghzApmw0rFQ
Also there was Princetown, a OO scale GWR line.
Finally of particular note was Splitters Swamp Creek. A layout under construction by Geoff, a friend of Mr Mackie's, who is modelling a NSWGR based branchline. Geoff impressed me greatly with the fine hand made track. I look forward to seeing more of the layout as it progresses.
The club had a great show, with patron numbers up from last year. All involved, especially John Kennedy and Janelle Dilger should be congratulated on organising a great show and canteen again for 2011.
Finally on Sunday afternoon after returning from a day trip up to the Sunshine Coast I found some time to continue with Lachlan's layout and added some static grass.
If I get a chance through the week to go and take some photos I will upload to Beaver Springs.
Phew, what a week!
