| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| workwright |
Posted - 05/03/2012 : 3:12:07 PM
Hi, this is the first of what I hope will be a long story following the building of this railway.
The model railway is a fictional might have been. A branch off my version of the FCAB in Bolivia. The main town modelled, high on the altiplano exists for the mining industry containing a small rail served smelter. A branch leaves the mainline and climbs at a constant 4% into the mountains to reach a moderately sized mine. When finished the mine will have features in common with the real Pulacayo (Pacamayo is a mountain near Pulacayo) (well worth looking at in Google images)
The reality is the railway is in a house in France that we get to three times a year. It is in the attic of the house. Construction is US style-trackbases on risers from L girder base boards. UK in style in that the boards are all capable of dis-assembly and are portable. After six weeks work spread over two and a half years tracklaying is complete and ballasting and detailing has started. The stock presently is heavily reworked Bachmann locos detailed for South America with etched brass number plates and loco numbers on red buffer beams. Where needed the cabs have had their back plates removed and lamps and generators re-positioned. The stock is a little bit of Bachmann and a large and growing fleet of ore cars. So far these are Chivers (Slimline) kits with a lot of extra detail. Some have opening side dump doors and all have wood or iron wear stips to protect the sides when loading. I am going to make up a kit for myself that will produce a batch of some Ingoldsby type ore cars. I think they will be laser cut with etched details. I have made my own masters for the working US style switch stands and a friend has cast a couple of dozen for me in brass. All the turnouts are power operated and the whole railway is wired for DCC. The controller is a Bachmann Dynamis which after a troublesome start and base unit replcement has settled down. As I start to get to grips with the new technology DCC is showing promising signs both of reliable and flexibility in use.
The basics of the railway are a continuous run with an out of sight fiddle yard of about 24 yards,and a branch of about 15 yards run. There are 17 visible turnouts and three hidden. I hope to master how to post photos over the next few days and add to this post. Hopefully some of the experts out there on the forum that I have followed in constant admiration of their model making skills for the last two years will help me forward with comments and criticism. Last point, sorry about the rudeness of the initials of my railway. I only realised when titling the etch frame for the loco plates that in the UK at least they could be thought of as short for F... UP! Hopefully things can only get better from now on. Regards, Malcolm |
| 15 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| workwright |
Posted - 03/23/2013 : 12:23:30 PM
Hi, having fallen off the edge of the page world I thought I should find some time to get back into the thick of things. I hav'nt yet finished the water tank I started at New Year. I had made a walkway for the top it and the bits for a level gauge. I put them down on the bench and have lost them. I have been very busy with the business. I have to finish a batch of steam locos for the 16mm AGM show at the end of April. Everytime I started on something On30 guilt dragged me back to the task in hand. It is clearly one of the perils when an interest becomes a business.
A holiday in France where the FCUP is, is getting close too, so soon I should have a few new photos. I mean to start the mountains and high desert section of the layout. Regards to all, Malcolm |
| BBLmber |
Posted - 01/15/2013 : 07:33:13 AM
[:-thumbu][:-thumbu]
Mark |
| BigLars |
Posted - 01/15/2013 : 07:10:26 AM
Very nice. |
| Ray Dunakin |
Posted - 01/15/2013 : 02:27:28 AM
Wow, that is really great work! |
| MinerFortyNiner |
Posted - 01/13/2013 : 11:42:06 PM
That's one great looking tank, Malcolm! I agree with Roland, the bracing and spout details are exceptional. |
| Hopeless |
Posted - 01/13/2013 : 6:50:33 PM
Malcolm, This is really great. The bracing and spout are especially nice
Roland |
| workwright |
Posted - 01/13/2013 : 1:07:01 PM
Hi, I did manage some time in the workshop that was spent on On30. The water tank has been progessed to the grey primer stage.
The swing out filler was made from a few turnings and some 6mm aluminium rod. It was based on a type a type that seemed to be common on water tanks in Australia. I found the photos by going through "railway water tanks" on google images.
The last bit I made was the ladder. I sheared off some strips of nickel silver from some scrap. Soldered them together and then drilled holes for the rungs and bent the tops round in a groove machined into the end of a bit of bar. This simple dodge stops the strip from kinking. The strips were then separated and the rungs of brass wire were soldered in.
I think I will spray the tank all matt black, weather it and fill the tank with varnish "water". When it gets to France the tank base can be cut into the landform and bleanded in.
Next a couple of those attractive tunnel mouths made from large timber. Regards, Malcolm. |
| CieloVistaRy |
Posted - 01/04/2013 : 09:51:06 AM
Malcolm,
I like the water tower. It has character.
Funny that you should speak of live steam in the UK, I absolutely love them. My dream is to someday visit England for an extended period of time and visit as many live steam lines as I can, from the Rudyard lake line, RH & D, to Ffestininiog, etc. I think their locos are a thing of beauty and if I had the money I would import a 12 1/2" one. |
| Rick |
Posted - 01/04/2013 : 07:39:31 AM
Malcolm, posting a link is fine. |
| workwright |
Posted - 01/04/2013 : 06:55:37 AM
Hi, I never know if I can post a photo Roland. I usually find something trawling through google images or flikr. Can you post their material with an acknowledgement to the photographer or the site? I had always assumed not, and having personal experience of having my intellectual property stolen without any permission. I know how very angry one is, and in the UK any redress is too expensive to think about.
What I will try to do in future is post a link to the picture. I think that is OK? but I am new to the conventions of the web. So if I am wrong pllease advise me.
Ray the tank was cut from some thin sheet aluminium in the workshop. Marked out both sides with the outside scribed for the seam lines and then the rivets embossed from the rear. The anvil of the riveter auto spaces them. Then a cutting mat with 4 layers of newspaper was put into the rolls I have. The mat and paper acts as a protective bed for all the rivets. It was butted up and held by a strip of the Al superglued to the joint.
I do have a well equipped workshop,so some jobs are quicker for me. Now I am retired my day job is building batches of livesteam locos (Wrightscale). My only excuse for not making faster progress is earning some extra pension has to come first. Never turn a hobby into a business is the lesson if you want to be relaxed at the workbench. Regards, Malcolm. |
| Ray Dunakin |
Posted - 01/04/2013 : 01:32:37 AM
Hw did you make the tank? |
| Hopeless |
Posted - 01/03/2013 : 7:03:43 PM
I like the tower so far. Looks like enough rivets to me. Can you post a photo of the orignal tank?
Roland |
| workwright |
Posted - 01/03/2013 : 08:21:41 AM
Hi,could'nt post last image of the previous post 
As you can see loads to do. Regards, Malcolm. |
| workwright |
Posted - 01/03/2013 : 08:12:22 AM
Hi, Happy New Year to all from Bonnie Scotland! I did find a little time to spend in the workshop. while Xmax shopping I ran across a sale in one of those mall model shops. For some unknown reason they had marked down a couple of packs of plastic structural shapes to £1 so those went into the bag. 
I found a photo on the web of a water tower in NSW in OZ that was the idea behing this one. To finish it needs a lot more time. I will have to make the ladder, pipes and valves, put in some water and then make a representation of the tank staying at the top. 
The tank was a long job pressing in all the rivets.There are not enough anyway but I hope when painted and weathered their lack of number is not too obvious.
|
| Rick |
Posted - 12/22/2012 : 1:17:46 PM
Merry Christmas Malcolm. |
