Time for a new hobby...

[toprob]

I've put this on hold this year to save for a trip to Brisbane -- I'm off with the family on Wednesday! When I get back, I'll know how much money I have left to spend on the layout, but I'm keen to get stuck back in. At the moment the main track at least runs to the station now, but some more track-laying to do -- I may pick up some bits and pieces in Brisbane, as they have a couple of model train stores, compared to Wellington's zero.
This turned out to be a learning experience, I've learnt that I probably need to redo the whole thing at some stage. Here's a quick video shot yesterday once I finally connected the main track. Terrible video, I know, I was in a hurry.
The two little overly-yellow sheds need to be reprinted, as the paintwork is horrible, and I've mentioned before that I'll reprint the ticket office with a smaller overhang so you can actually see what it is. The big shed is still just a placeholder until I find another way to build it. Power poles, signals etc are yet to come.
The wagons etc will eventually be weathered -- everything at the real museum is rusty as. I've been picking up the odd wagon on Trademe, I did say I was going to 3D-print everything, but they aren't really important. I will continue to work on the printed carriage models, although I'm happy with my first attempt there's a lot I can improve.
I really have to come to terms with what this layout is -- running a train from one end to the other is about 30 seconds of fun (double that for the return journey), so not much point to it, other than the experience, and as a static diorama.
The second video shows the loco running, yes, I did hit a tree with the camera. As the controller is at the far end, I can't easily use that and the camera at the same time. When I finish the whole thing, I'll get my son to make a proper video, he works at Weta Workshop doing that sort of thing anyway. As NZFF's video embeds don't go full screen, best viewed on Youtube.

Watch on youtube.com

Watch on youtube.com

[emfrat]

That's great work Rob. For such a localised model, your best bet is the so-called 'dumbell' layout, where the train disappears into a tunnel or under a bridge, and enters a concealed loop of sidings, so that a different one comes out. Easy to model in N gauge. Just put the loops 'downstairs' of the main board.
I live 90km inland from Brisbane, but I'd be happy to meet and buy you a beer, if that's allowed.
ATB
MikeW

[toprob]

Cheers, Mike, that's a good plan for my next layout, if/when I get around to it. At Silverstream, there is only a 1km stretch of track anyway, and I've modelled 400m of it, so the finished operation would be pretty much real life, except that there's a turnout at the far end to run the engine back to the rear of the train (facing backwards) for the return journey.

It could operate as a switching layout, as eventually there will be 5 tracks leading into the sheds, but in reality there's old rolling stock cluttering up a lot of the track.

In Brisbane I'll be visiting my son and his family (3 grandkids over there), and the family does have an itinerary worked out, so I may not have spare time as such. Except maybe to escape for a bit to a train store... I'm travelling with my other son, his wife and their 2.5 year-old who I normally take care of, so although most of the trip is paid for by them I will still be working taking care of the little one:)

Oh, and my ex-wife is coming too. The fun never ends...

[toprob]

I managed to see a couple of model train stores in Brisbane, although only one was a little bit interesting. I did manage to pick up a new airbrush, AU$200, which saved me at least $100 on NZ prices.

I am kind of back into the layout, last week I 'weathered' some of the wagons I had laying about. OK, I know they are mostly wooden, but I have rusted everything to match the old stock at the museum. I'm a great believer in doing things my way, rather than doing them right.... I bought the tank car in Brisbane, AU$20, and painted in black with rust to match the actual tanks at Silverstream.



As I had some money left when I came home I bought a new controller, a Hornby HM6000 which lets me control the loco using my phone, via Bluetooth. Also adds some loco sounds, from the phone, which is inordinately fun to play with!

Aus was great fun, we all stayed for a while on the Sunshine Coast, just up the road from the beach, including my son, daughter-in-law and their 3 kids. We did a rainforest walk, and when I got back to the car I walked into the trees to have a pee, when I turned around I felt something on my face, and flicked this thing off --



Apparently it couldn't kill me, but still freaked me out.

[emfrat]

Rob, that's an interesting creature...seems to be one of these, a long way from home:
https://www.jungledragon.com/image/3824 ... hoose.html
ATB
Mike

[toprob]

I did find these shots of it on someone's face, although probably not accidentally like me.

[deeknow]

sheesh that thing looks TERRIFYING !!!!

oh, and nice work on the weathering

[Splitpin]

Rob....bloody hell, I would have been airborne if that thing had been on my face.
But I think you were lucky .....considering the part of your anatomy that was a potential target at the time

[cowpatz]

Great work there Rob. A very time consuming hobby.
There is something very therapeutic about them.

[toprob]

.....considering the part of your anatomy that was a potential target at the time

I hadn't even thought of that, definitely no more relieving myself outdoors.

[toprob]

Once again, this project has been on hold for a while, as I have given up trying to use the printer in winter -- it works best at 25 degrees, and that's tricky to maintain here. However I have been pottering away on some detail, and finally finished the track layout. The only issue is that it doesn't work -- I went from having a line running end-to-end, plus a run-around, working really well, but once I got everything else stuck down my poor loco stops and starts. Not too sure what the issue is, maybe it'll just be a static display after all....

Still needs the backdrop, there is a new bridge going in over the Hutt River at the moment, well, more of an aquaduct and bike/walk track, which may or may not allow me to get my camera high enough to get some useful photos, otherwise it'll have to be a bit of a hack. Don't know when the bridge opens.

The new track can't be ballasted yet, until I solve all the problems, but I'm reasonably happy with the overall look at the moment.

[Naki]

Looking really good there Robin!

[cowpatz]

You might want to learn to graffiti Robin, so that you can apply that authentic look to the wagons and buildings.

[deeknow]

Fab work Robin. Amazed how far you've come in such a short time w all these new skills!!!

As a former model-railroader what you described sounds like an electrical short somewhere which of course you'd know, its not rocket science the tricky thing is tracking it down. Do you have more than one powered loco and do they show the same behaviour? Have you built yourself a continuity-tester or do you have a multimeter you can use to check from one point to another? Issues often popup w a short at the turnouts and I see you have a few more of those now? Check the resistance across all the joiners too one of those might not be tightly joined. Is your system digital?

[emfrat]

You're doing great work there, Rob. As Dean says, intermittent electrical faults can be the devil to trace. I don't know how your locos collect their current (which wheels are used, and so on) but if the loco stops and goes without any input from you, that suggests a loose wire, or something heating up enough to break the circuit and then restoring it as it cools down. In my bad young days, my older bro and I used to persuade a naive younger bro to put his tongue across the rails as a continuity test, but for some reason he became very reluctant to help.
BTW, the rust colour is actually dust from the cast-iron brake blocks, so it is quite in order to have some on wooden bodies, provided of course that the stock actually had brakes controlled from the loco. In the UK right into the late 1960s there were many 'loose-coupled' trains chugging around at 20mph with the only brakes being in the guard's van and on the loco. Grey paint indicated non-fitted stock and brown was used on fitted wagons.
Mike

[toprob]

Yes, I'm thinking that this is solvable, and that it is just a couple of poor connections. I need to fix it before I stick the track down (by glueing ballast) but it could just be the connectors flexing a bit with the weight of the locomotive. Also, because I tend not to put my locomotive away, the problem might be compounded by dust in the mechanism, so I should give it a good clean at some point -- that'll be fun, the bits are just so tiny! I only have one working locomotive, the others are just there to look busy.

This is simple DC, the power feeds in one end where there's just a single line, then branches out to various sidings when switched, so there's only ever one 'live' line depending on the switches. There is a run-around, which needs some planning to get the power to the far end, but I don't use this much. The system is controlled using a bluetooth system via an app on my phone. The app will tell me if there's a short, but I only get these if I derail on a turnout. No, I won't test connections with my tongue, except as a last resort...

At the moment there's a battle going on for my interest, with the new MSFS coming up. I really don't know where to go next with the railway, although I've really enjoyed building it, but I still don't have a big interest in running trains. I guess I thought I could put this away until my grandson was older, but it really takes up a lot of room, currently in my bedroom as the workshop gets too cold over the winter. And once the track gets stuck down it'll be tricky to move.

Recently I've become a bit disillusioned with some things with the railway hobby. It's hard to find info on how locals work with NZ layouts, except for random Facebook groups. I rely a lot on Youtube, but there are no NZ contributors that I'm aware of. Last year I found the NZ Model Railway Journal in the Kapiti Mags shop, so I signed up to the Guild. They published four magazines a year, which was good value for my $60 subscription. Because I joined late in the subscription year, I only received one mag, but that was ok, I was pleased to support the group. However they've now moved to twice-yearly, and built a new website with a community discussion area as the focus. I was keen to see how this would grow, but really it hasn't done anything. I asked if it was ok to publish a 'blog' type discussion over a few weeks, showing what I was doing and looking for help with some issues. The idea was to show members that they can really post about anything, so everyone can do their bit, but the result has been almost total silence.

I'm aware that magazines are mostly obsolete, but I liked the idea of a vibrant community discussion -- kind of like what NZFF was in the early days. But no, people seem to prefer facebook, which is kind of like random noise to me.

I have been thinking about the new features available in MSFS 2024, and how some would make some airport features possible, whereas I have just left these out in the past. So I could end up spending my time exploring that. I'm currently looking at which controllers are PC/Xbox compatible, just in case I go the Xbox route. So instead of getting a new GPU for $1500, I could end up with an Xbox and controller for roughly the same cost. Next month, once dividends are paid out, I will cash in the last of my shares which will cover this. The shares I have left are just the dregs, which weren't worth selling back when I had my surgery, or again when covid messed around with the business. One particular investment I've kept just see how much you could lose on a single investment:) Turns out, more and more over time.

[Charl]

Good thing to have multiple interests, certainly - you have to feel the need for your favourite obsession
At the risk of sounding neurotic: I am hoping MSFS 2024 is not to MSFS 2020 what FSX was to FS9!
That left me in a simming hole for years.
And the Xbox thing fuels my neurosis... I am not ten years old with a burning desire to get good marks in my Virtual Piloting Career.

[emfrat]

If you can get hold of one of those puffer brushes that are used for cleaning camera lenses, they are also ideal for cleaning small fragile things like N Gauge electrickery. Is it possible your Bluetooth data link is trying to do other things besides what you want it to? Does your phone periodically check for messages and/or updates, which might cause a break in Bluetooth transmissions? There might be a log file on the phone which would show that.
Happy hunting...

[toprob]

Cheers, Mike, I've spent some time today cleaning the track, and managed to get the main line (end-to-end) working, along with the run-around. One issue turned out to be a turnout sliding along loose, so I tightened that up. However the loco still has trouble at a couple of points getting started from stopped, and required a wee push or just a waggle to get going. One area is right up the far end where the power goes in, so there's nothing electrical to go wrong. Which suggests a combination of dirty track and poorly maintained loco.

And the Xbox thing fuels my neurosis... I am not ten years old with a burning desire to get good marks in my Virtual Piloting Career.

One thing I noticed was that the free-flight setup seems a lot better, and less 'gamey' than 2020. So you can probably ignore the career mode and carry on as usual.

I do understand the direction they've gone, especially as explained by Jörg. He talks about helping with the worldwide pilot shortage by showing kids what a flying career could look like. But from what I've seen of the sim, simmers are well taken care of, and we can only hope that it'll continue on that way. It may be that while adding new things for new users we get to keep and grow what we have for simming.

Not that I can call myself a simmer, I don't remember the last time I went through any start-up process and flew a proper flight.

Gamey Rob.

[emfrat]

You might want to learn to graffiti Robin, so that you can apply that authentic look to the wagons and buildings.

`Quite a while back, I noticed one of the local model sources was offering decals/transfers/whatever to apply grafitti to QR coal wagons, to provide realism.
I see lots of coal and grain going past every day and the vandalism is disgusting. Last year there was an incident where someone had travelled all the way from Melbourne, just to put his tag on our trains. He had decided all the warnings were bosses' b-s and being a real tough guy climbed over the fences anyway. He may have realised the error of his ways when he earthed the 25kV overhead, but I doubt it.