Track laying 23-25/365 hours of Model Railroading

Posted on January 22, 2018 by gordy87

So here i have logged another 3 hours, this time tracklaying for my N scale Civil AP project layout.

I continued my previous work of cutting lengths of flex track to complete the whole plan. Its only a 5ft x 1ft layout so this wasn’t a huge job.

Once the track was cut i held it in place with push pins. I then soldered all rail joins and soldered feed wires to each track sections. I also soldered the feed wires to the frogs which i will conect to auto frogs under the baseboard.

Then i painted the ties with a dark brown and light brown wash.

Then i glued the complete trackwork down to the roadbed

Podcasting – 22/365 hours of Model Railroading 2018

Posted on January 19, 2018 by gordy87

As you’ll all know I host the NMRABR podcast, creating a podcast is easy if i can do it with my limited knowledge of audio editing anyone can. The hardest part of hosting a podcast is arranging interviews with people, aligning diaries and also helping them familiarise themselves with Skype is challenge. I have taken to carrying a pair of microphones that plug into my iphone for recording anytime I have the chance and on the way back to Heathrow from the NMRABR winter meet in Benson i interviewed Peter Bochards about the show and his wonderful Rochelle Intermodal layout, which we also broke the interview to go and visit.

Look out for this episode soon from either AML or NMRABR podcasts.

If you haven’t listened to a podcast before check out the NMRABR Podcast here or the a modelers life (AML) podcast here

Another hour down to record and soon another hour of editing & production tasks.

Adding DCC sound to Atlas GP38-2’s 20-21/365 hours of Model Railroading 2018

Posted on January 19, 2018 by gordy87

I picked up 2 Atlas GP38-2 in WSOR livery for my N scale layout, at the NMRABR convention there was a huge N scale modular set up and all the locos on the modules had sound and i was really impressed with how well these sounded given the space issues within N scale models for speakers and chips.

I chose to fit digitrax SDN144A0 decoders and speakers, the atlas models need full dissassembly and then the DC circuit board is removed and the chip & speaker is fitted. A little bit of filing is required to the rear light fixture to get the body back on the chassis but after the first one i did the second in under an hour. I have just one more locomotive to Chip and then thats the roster complete for my layout. A rewarding 2 hours and some of the least painful DCC installs I have ever done.

Patching a locomotive 16-18/365 hours of Model Railroading

Posted on January 19, 2018 by gordy87

So remember that SD40-2 in BN livery that I picked up at Benson, a nice model it is too but it won’t stay nice for long. Whilst not quite the correct livery to model a patch of WAMX4181 at the price i couldn’t say no. Here is the model before I did anything with it.

Here is an image of WAMX 4181

I disassembled the model and then started the conversion by repainting the nose, on the real WAMX4181 the nose has white stripes but my doner is a different BN livery. I can live with the subtle differences as no one in the UK will have seen the prototype, but i decided to remove the BN logo on the nose. I also didn’t have any Cascade green paint so I use as close a color as i had lying around the workshop and once its weathered it should blend well.

My next change was to patch the BN numbers & logos and apply the WAMX 4181 decals from Circus Decals.

img_9904-1 When I came to change the number boards i noticed they were missing from the rear of locomotive so I have ordered some replacements from kato and will then start the weathering.

Benson NMRABR Winter Meet 10-15/365 hours of Model Railroading

Posted on January 19, 2018 by gordy87

So it was time for the first trainshow of 2018 and why not make it a NMRABR meet, well living in Scotland and being kinda responsible for meets I am also responsible for admiting that we generally only have one per year but then distance is an issue for us.

Fortunatley though we have alot more members down in the south of England who put on a number of great shows/meets throughout the year. The Benson meet has become a firm favourite of many and takes place early each january giving everyone a chance to spend those Christmas pennies. It was no mean feat for me to get to this show from Scotland and wouldn’t have been possible without the help of Peter Bochards who picked me up from Heathrow and took me to Benson, he also took me back to the airport which was rather nice.

Benson was a good chance to meet up with alot of model railroad buddies to talk trains and plan for 2018. I also made some purchases, a Atlas GP38-2 in WSOR livery for Rippon Cement and a Kato SD40-2 in BN livery which is to be patched into WSOR livery. I also set up a facebook group called the british tea house for those from the NMRABR who will be going to the NMRA convention in Kansas City in 2018. I dropped of my two MP15-DC’s with Dan Spalding who is going to re-paint/chip & weather them for me or Rippon Cement.

Here are a few images from the event, if you haven’t gone along to your local NMRA division, member or not go and give it a try not all of the horror stories are true.

Searching for inspiration 9/365 hours of Model Railroading

Posted on January 19, 2018 by gordy87

Sometimes enjoying the hobby doesn’t mean doing more than just sitting with a good book or magazine and discovering new knowledge you didn’t have before. In fact alot of people in the hobby do no more than watch youtube clips or read articles, for them that is the hobby. For me its an essential part of discovery and knowledge aquisition, the most important thing any of us can do in this hobby is sharing knowledge with others.

So on my flight down to Benson I had this years model railroad subscription, in 2018, it will be Model Railroad Hobbyist and the Narrow Gauge & Shortline Gazette. in 2017 it was NMRA Magazine, Model Railroader, MRVP & Railroad Model Craftsman, with the money I have saved from dropping some of these titles I have decided to fund 3 NMRA memberships for deserving people. I have already given 2 out and still have to find who will be the third recipient.

Anyway my flight down to Benson was made a whole lot better by taking along a Model Railroad Magazine, and what did I learn well.

I was inspired by a great article about a Jail building and how it developed, possibly a future scratchbuilding project.
An equally brilliant article by Bill Gould about building a O scale water tower will almost certainly lead to a project down the line.
I read about three times a great how to article for making evergreen trees by Craig Symington MMR he has a few thousand to make and now I know why i don’t model the pacific northwest
I made a huge list of manufacturers whose websites i wanted to visit, unfortunatley no wifi on British Airways.

details and scratchbuilding 7-8/365 hours of Model Railroading

Posted on January 19, 2018 by gordy87

The night before I flew down to the NMRABR meet in Benson I thought I would just add a couple more figures to a structure I have built for my Structures AP (See Achievement Program pages). I found the standing figures on ebay for a very reasonable price.

I then decided to add some grafitti decals to the side wall, oh what a mistake that was the MDF laser cut kit did not like microset and the wall buldged and was ruined. So i took a sheet of 20thou plasticard and made a new wall, which i then painted and weathered its rough but i had to be up at 4am for a flight. I’ll spend a few more hours tidying it up before i take it to springfield for judging by AP assessors.

Track laying – 4-6/365 hours of Modelling Railroading 2018

Posted on January 19, 2018 by gordy87

I started my N scale project layout in Dec 2017, as I need to lay 25ft of track for my NMRA AP Civil certificate which I have challenged myself to achieve in 2018.

Before the holidays I built a 5x1ft scenic baseboard laser cut kiy by Tim Horn. I have designed the track plan using Anyrail software, 1) to confirm I have laid suffiecient track and 2) so that i could print off the plan 1:1 and lay it on my benchwork. I also between Christmas 2017 and New Year managed to lay the roadbed and get that painted an burnt umber color ready for track laying and ballasting to commence.

For the AP i just need to lay and ballast the track but I want to make this layout available for public display so it will also be finished to a good standard with fully detailed buildings and scenics. If nothing else it will account for a few more hours of Model Railroading fun.

So I spent another 3 hours towards my 365 hour goal, track laying, my approach is to first drill the holes for the point motor rods using a 4mm drill bit and then to temporarily secure the track with pins before dry fitting all the rail. Once I am happy that the rail is all to the correct sizes, I will add the feeder wires. once all the trackwork is ready to be laid and has been electrically tested, I will paint and weather the track before securing it with white glue and then ballasting.

This is as far as I got in my three hours.

New Year – New Goals

Posted on January 13, 2018 by gordy87

At the passing of one year into the next we reflect on the past year and plan for the next. Many people set goals or decide to break some habit, sometime those goals/habits are still going in February but for most people the goals for the new year are quickly forgotten.

So looking back at 2017, for me it certainly had some high points and definatley finished better than it started. I visited Canada for the first time, gave my first clinic, had my first article posted, attended my first NMRA Convention, started a Podcast, achieved two AP Certs, scratchbuilt my first freight car and got to make lots more friends around the world.

So what Goals to set myself for 2018, well here are my modelling goals:

Pay for NMRA memberships/Railpasses for 3 new first time members
Complete my Civil AP Certificate
Build 12 Structures (6 Scratchbuilt, 6 MAs) and obtain my Structures AP Certificate
Orgainse at least one NMRA meet in Scotland ideally more
Try to spend 1 hour per day Modelling/Model Railroad Activity, but document at least 365 hours of Modelling on gordy.uk Blog
Attend the Kansas City Convention 2018
Go to Springfield (Amhurst Show)
Attend all NMRABR Regional events (Winter Meet & Convention)
1. Benson Winter Meet
2. NMRABR Convention Derby 2018

So with 13 Days into the Year lets see where I am at:

2/3 memberships given away
4 hours of modelling logged (going online soon)
1/12 Structures built, 2 more waiting for interiors
Started track laying for section 2 of Civil, Section 1&3 completed
Attended 1/2 NMRABR meets
Flights booked to Springfield in 2 weeks

So heres to 2018, lets make the most of it and make everyday a step towards your goals.

3/365 hours of Model Railroading 2018

Posted on January 13, 2018 by gordy87

As you will know if you have read my new year new goals post then you’ll already know that i have set myself the goal of documenting 365 hours of modelling or model railroading activity on this blog.

So how did i spend my 1st hour of modelling in the new year well having aquired Florida Springs a HO switching layout built by Chris Gilbert over the holidays i had to do some spring cleaning in my workshop to mount the layout. Not necessarily modelling but its essential i can test projects in my workshop and also run some trains when the mood takes me so its model railroading activity associated with the hobby in my book.

Well having emptied my shelving units and moved everything around i had the scenic section in place.