Wednesday 25th April

Worklist:
Wagon review
Cassette shelf
Wiring change

A full house and plenty to do, but first, Geoff showed the results of some weathering he'd been trying out on the ore wagons. Metalwork paint and rust, and replacement planking all worked well.

Stephen had brought a melamine shelf trimmed down to 205mm wide, as decided, together with some 50mm wide strips of 9mm ply. The shelf was cut to length and then in half. A pair of hinges were found together with some 6mm tee nuts and left-over '50mm cross dowel flat headed bolts'. These were chosen over ordinary screws for long-term solidity as the joint is likely to be subject to rough handling. Stephen and Laurence prepared the boards - hinges were positioned and their holes were marked. 2 screws per hinge would be tried first, but all three holes prepared (it made sense at the time).

A Forsner bit was found almost the right size. Geoff lightly turned the tee nuts down to suit and the burrs were ground off.

Laurence cut the bolts down to suit and Stephen fitted the tee nuts - teamwork at its best.

The joint was solid, but we'll have to do something about the extra holes.

Two lengths of timber were clamped to the trestles and the new shelf placed on top. It all worked well...

Too well, as it was immediately taken-over as a working platform for tools during a wiring mod, which then took our minds off fitting the edging strips. The edgings will be fitted next week.

During running sessions, we regularly mis-select track section switches around the cross-over, which is very annoying. We decided to investigate breaking a particularly long section at the board joint. Geoff quickly made the modifications, but discussions ensued about whether to make the newly severed section a separate entity or join it onto the adjacent station section. After a 'spirited' discussion about train shunting in the goods bay, opinions remained divided, so it was agreed to test the merged option and then decide. Testing took place and went well until one route was found to have a dead section at the heart of the cross-over requiring an adjacent section to be switched on in parallel, to work - not ideal. It's all down to the 'unique' way John constructed his points, which would be difficult to change. Either a permanent live feed or additional micro-switches on the point actuators would be required. Another one for next week.

Wednesday 18th April

Worklist:
Review wagons
Odd jobs

No Laurence this week, but Geoff & Stephen kept busy (in between assisting BT engineers resolve a line problem).

Stephen had completed the painting and branding of his rake of wagons. They are now at the same stage as Geoff's, awaiting weathering and loads. Stephen produced 8 ore wagons and two tar wagons. Together with Geoff's 9 wagons, they make an impressive display.

The homemade transfers had been a troublesome affair requiring great patience. Whereas Geoff had persevered and applied WCM to both sides, Stephen took the short route and did so on one side only, with just tare and number on the reverse - quite prototypical!

The WCM wagon with its two main inspirations for comparison - GVT left and L&B right.

Next for discussion was the cassette shelf unit. Stephen had brought a piece of 250mm wide melamine shelf and two pieces of 9mm ply. Stephen had several 2.44m lengths of 50mm wide 9mm ply left over from his workshop fit-out. Some had been glued and screwed to the back of standard shelf planks, to make sturdy shelves. The components were offered up to the control panel (225mm wide) and 2 or 3 cassettes tried for fit.

It was agreed to make the shelves 205mm wide internally which would accommodate 2 cassettes comfortably. A 225mm shelf will be cut down by 10mm each long edge to make the overall width the same as the control panel when the edge strips are fitted. By removing the melamine edges, the ply strips can be glued and screwed for maximum strength. Geoff was not keen on a single shelf and suggested a tongued interface rather than hinges. TBA.

Geoff brought out a small project he'd been working on - a caravan. This was a side-project using the laser cutter to produce accurate components, firstly in basswood and then different types of card. The fine detail possible is amazing, but playing with some of the cutter parameters needs some experimentation. Ultimately, the caravan is planned to become a ticket office.

Both then spent the rest of the session on minor odd jobs. Geoff assembled several fittings/kits like oil drums, refuse bins and a telephone kiosk, and painted them. Stephen glued in place the updated fuel tank tower and a few ladders; assembled the speaker enclosure and wired it in and painted various loose items. A discussion ensued about the safety balustrade around the gas holder. This led on to the realisation that a few more lengths were required up the stairs and along the front of the water tank.

Finally, A brief discussion took place regarding the running of trains and both were agreed that a series of guidelines will be developed to aid consistency.

Wednesday 11th April

Worklist:
Running session

A full running session was planned to test the newly completed cassettes. However, as often happens when we set the layout up, the team were soon side-lined by a few 'issues'.

Geoff had completed the branding of his rake of wagons and fitted wheels and couplers. They really looked the part. After the doubts about the font, alternatives were sought. Stephen proposed "Swiss721 Blk BT" which was on his PC, but not Geoffs. Once downloaded, it was 'approved' and used for the rest of the transfers (we haven't removed any of the previous branding trials).

Geoff had also produced a set of transfers for Stephen to apply to his rake.

While the track was being cleaned, Stephen connected-up all of the building features, such as lights, motors and sound units. The generator building had never been properly assembled after the generator room had been completed and some 'walls' had to be modified to obtain a good fit. With the engine and its sound unit running, the speaker was moved around to find the best position. This turned out to be directly behind the building under the fibreglass hill, but on the baseboard rather than underneath. However, further experimenting showed the best sound was achieved with a spray-can cap fitted over it, which when cut down, fitted perfectly.

With the engine room interior now finished, the lighting (12v, ex-Christmas filament type) were thought to be too bright, but the power unit we employ was easily re-tuned to produce a more suitable effect.

Stephen had brought back the fuel gantry with pipework, control box and delivery hose fitted.

After lunch, stock was loaded onto cassettes and Laurence 'played trains'. Discussions ensued about what to do with cassettes both empty and loaded with stock. We had decided that only cassettes would be left in the fiddle area i.e. no loose items. With two cassettes 'engaged' two more can be left in the central space. Putting the rest on the storage shelves wouldn't be of use in the exhibition and tables might not be available. Geoff came up with the idea of a narrow shelf, no deeper than the control panel, running along the back. Spare MDF and ply strips were clamped in place and it immediately looked a viable option. Very little thought was required to establish the construction and installation details, and we suddenly had a brilliant plan! Materials will be sourced and the hinged shelf and brackets fabricated.

We still seem to have problems with badly prepared stock so we need to have a concerted effort to rectify malfunctioning couplings and wheels. We also need to fit weights and/or brakes on free-wheeling stock to enable the magnetic couplers work properly. There is limited siding space so not overloading the layout will be important. Exhibitions with Cottesmore always entailed a running schedule, but Worton Court is so much smaller. A review of what type of rolling stock and trains we wish to operate and the establishment of some rules/set movements should ensure a smooth and realistic performance.

Wednesday 4th April

Worklist:
Review wagon/transfer status
Building refinements
Cassettes

Full house - rain - warmish.

Geoff had experimented with spray and brushed varnish on a white waterslide transfer sheet, but they hadn't worked very well, so he will revert to using spray white paint. Further experimenting with fonts is required, to achieve an acceptable 'C'. Arial and Segoe are 'in the frame', albeit that individual letters may be rendered in different fonts to get the 'correct' effect. Geoff will prepare and run-off sufficient transfers for all the remaining wagons. Different numbers will be applied on each side, so 34 in total. Stephen and Geoff will coordinate their numbering to avoid duplication.

Geoff displayed a wagon with the underframe metalwork black, which looked good. Stephen will paint his rake to match. Once painted and lettered, they will all be weathered at the same time, for uniformity.

A test using the cassettes was started, but had to be aborted when a 'rogue' cassette was discovered with rail problems. Laurence rectified the problems and a full running session was suggested for the following week, to give the end-stops a full work-out. Hopefully, all or most of the wagons will be in running order, so they too can be tested and weights trialled.

Stephen located the building on the layout to fit the office threshold strip. The doors had been fitted using bent L shaped pieces of brass rod, which allows the doors to be removed as necessary. Downpipes had also been fitted and the walls weathered by adding general grime and green growth, as requested.