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.
