What is your current Project?

[cjbarnes5294]

I've looked at N gauge a lot lately - we're also somewhat short on space - and the quality of the locos is very high for the size, and that looks like an ideal little layout. 2 decent loops and some sidings to boot.

I believe Dapol have you sorted with a Q1, Prairie and 14xx to go on with.

Chris

[Crumplezone]

So my 30th birthday has been and gone, it went pretty nice but I wassomewhat stressed out from dealing with the computer problems most of the week. I've managed to fix most of the issues with the computer now but I now have issues with stabality in TS2015 which is causing me endless amounts of problems with freeze ups, fps drops and high CPU usage.

Suffice to say I've not been able to do any testing for Matt due to all these problems and its getting me somewhat down with it constantly being a problem nearly for 3weeks.

Anyway, I got a fair bit of money to work with for my 30th so I picked up one of these:



Ehattons had reduced its price to £89 just last week so I picked that up with 6x 13ton high sided steel open wagons with smooth sides and a SR pillbox brakevan, both the wagons and brakevan are in BR bauxite.

I also recieved a £30 voucher for my local model shop which I used yesterday, which turned into being a quite fustrating experience aswell. I had my eyes on 4 locos and I was going to pick the best runner. 1st loco, the fairbun 4MT, its connection rods locked...then fell off. Good start. Next was the weather B17, suffice to say the motor sounded like a old granny forcing the clutch on a car at 30mph. Next was the LMS black 5...which was supposed to be one of the coreless motor types which are know to be silent and smooth. It was anything but silent or smooth.

So I looked at the A1, they put it on the test track, it sparked then it stopped moving and smoked. At that point I was just alittle annoyed and decided to just grab 4 wagons instead, so I ended up with 2x Bauxite vans, a lms 3 plank and a 4 plank. So the WD 2-8-0 has a reasonable length of train to pull and I'll probably add more to the freight consist later on.

So abit of mixed bag atm, computer issues and that episode with dodgy locos is having me cross every part of body to hope the WD 2-8-0 coming from Ehattons isn't a complete duff aswell.

Oh well.

Crump

[cjbarnes5294]

Bloody hell, it doesn't get much more unlucky than that - I bet that was a bad day at the office for the staff as well! Happy belated birthday btw. And again, nice choice with the Dub-Dee, I must admit I wouldn't mind a model of one of those myself one day.

For the black 5, my understanding was that all of the locos with Stanier 4000 gallon tenders are tender drive even if new, to save on tooling costs, but I could very well be wrong. It would partially explain the less than satisfactory performance at the shop? I would like to hope that the duchess, A2 and Mech Navy all have the new coreless motors in the loco but I won't hold my breath for the A2, given what I've read on RMWeb.

I have to confess, I fell to temptation the other week after seeing the photos and reading Daniel's praise, and decided to buy the Seaside Excursion pack as well in the Model Railways Direct sale. £104 plus p+p was a good deal in my books and about the right amount I was willing to spend for what was a "dipping toe in water" moment - I just felt like having a fling with a new, smaller and more practical scale. Like Daniel, I am very impressed with the models, and in fact I would go as far as saying that the 4F is a must for any budding N gauge modeller, because it is such a good runner and an exquisite model.

So, this summer, I will begin my adventure in N scale with a layout that will be able to fit in my room in my flat, and for the first time I want to do it properly and try and stay motivated with it. My non-rail enthusiast best friends are surprisingly interested in what I'm going to be doing so that should help. I'll make a new thread on it when the time comes.

Chris

[Crumplezone]

Pretty good deal you got there with that seaside pack and welcome to the world of N gauge, plenty of stuff that can be done in it within a small space so pretty ideal for your situation.

I don't know what was with the black 5 when they tested it but it was just really bad and grindy, I wasn't happy to throw down nearly 100 quid for something which could potentially seize up or not work so I just couldn't part with cash in that case, and quite frankly I kinda expected more for a release from last August which is when the shop said they got it in stock.

My bad luck also doesn't seem to be stopping at the moment, after Yodel's delivered my stuff from Ehattons I have to go pick up a new microwave from Argos, and in usual sod's law the extended warranty would be a month out on the current one, hurray..

I'm not having a good start to this year am I?

[cjbarnes5294]

How is the WD, Daniel? Hopefully not bruised in the post and running sweetly like the 4F?

I very unsensibly bought the Cumbrian Mountain Express pack last Friday, despite telling myself I needed a layout to run before splashing out on stock. I've really wanted the pack since my good first impressions with the 4F pack, and I was concerned that if I didn't get it now, I might not get one at all by the time I'm actually ready to get more stock with them possibly being sold out, so I spared myself the risk and it arrived this morning.

Like the 4F, the Duchess is just a stunning model, and it's also quite smooth and quiet although perhaps not quite as silky smooth as the 4F. Time will tell with more running in to do. The Ais Gill box makes a nice starting object to go on the future layout, and whilst I've not yet given them a run, I'm sure the blue/grey Mk1s are also superb like the maroon ones in the Seaside pack - they certainly look like they are.

So, I'm fortunate to have a small LMS collection already, with dad's old yet superb Peco Jubilee waiting to join them with what I think is an old Poole Farish maroon mk1 - my dad doesn't do N gauge so he's kindly donating them for to play with. The plywood and timber are bought and ready, so I'm looking forward to the new project when I move into my new flat in July.

Daniel, I'd recommend adding a duchess to your growing collection at some point as they are very good, and mine copes with the sharp radius curves of the Seaside set with ease, which I must admit I was a bit worried about (typically, I only considered that might be an issue when I was unpacking the box, rather than at point of transaction ).

Some iPad photos of the two locos:





Chris

[VictoryWorks]

That looks really nice Chris.

I'm also interested to know how you're getting on Crump, not just in your tiny rail endeavours.

I approached the subject of a model layout with the wife the other day and she agreed I could have the 2nd bedroom (a healthy 11' by 8') all to myself for a model rail layout
Sadly there is a small stipulation.. our children have to grow up and leave first! So I guess I have over a decade to plan it all out

[Crumplezone]

Hm a update?

Well I've not being doing alot with it since my last post, I have been struggling abit with my anxiety and depression and I ended up back as my usual doctor the other day and explained everything and have been changed from Citapram to Venlafaxine for combating it. They are quite abit stronger aswell so I must admit my heads abit out of it alot right now. I've had to ask Matt from SSS to take a step back from testing for abit as at the moment I can't really focus on much at all and going through both the anxiety attacks and bouts of depression don't quite keep me in the best of moods either.

I've been referred to the shrinks so we'll see what happens.

Anyway enough of that, the WD? Yes it turned up as expected from ehattons and I have to say having it infront of you really makes you just go "wow" and wonder how they fit all the detail onto it at such a tiny scale. As with the 4F the performance of the motor is incredible, its a loco drive so it gets all the power at the front and it has a central traction tire aswell for abit more grip on the rails. I put behind all my wagons which came to around 15 wagons plus the brake van and it was quite happy starting on curves and slow running aswell. The slow running I would argue is the equivilent of a DCC fitted loco and its quite incredible it doesn't whine or grind when at such low speeds.

I must admit at first from the pics I was abit put off by the weathering and how it all looked but decided at 89 quid it was to much of a opportunity to miss and when it turned up in person the weathering doesn't look at deep red as in the pic.

Adding to that the 4x3 ft board I wanted is ready to have track planted down on it, it costed a terrible amount...of £16 for the plywood and frame underneath. I'm waiting on a order today from ehattons which includes all the rest of the pointwork and track I needed to create the trackplan. There is one more thing I need to get and that would be a guagemaster controller, the bachmann one is fine but I don't think I can split the power feed on it to power two tracks and I want the two loops to be seperately controlled anyway so I can have two different consists running around.

Once my head stops being so out of it I'll start work on some of the metcalfe card kits for engine shed, goods shed and signal box and start actuall visualising the whole thing into something which might actually look like a minature railway.

Funny you should mention the duchess, I do want to get one for a express loco for my passenger consist when I get the opportunity, since the outer loop will be perfect for a duchie with radius 3 out curves.

I did find out while testing the WD and also giving the ivatt 2mt abit of a run in aswell that I will need to remove the spring from the bogie for the ivatt, the wheels while they turned would stick at lower speed and its the force of the spring causing the bogie to not sit right. WD doesn't seem to have the issue but its a option to do on that one aswell.

Hopefully I'll have some pics of the track down soon, I just need to get out and get some double sided carpet tape to hold the track down. Why am I using that method instead of pinning? Well N scale track is only about a CM and abit wide with sleepers and a inch wide or half inch wide double sided tape makes keeping it held down quite easy and the other benefit is being able to slide a blade under it and the track lifts up.

Rolling stock wise I'd like to get another 3 mk1s in maroon to make up a 5 coach consist at some point so I keep a eye on ebay every few days to see if a joblot of multi-coaches has popped up at a reasonable price.

I've seen the mk1s Chris from that pack, they are pretty much identical in quality to the maroons ones as it should be the newer moulding with the duchess, the duchess is only a recent release to so they should be the high quality ones available for about 30 quid a pop if you get them new

Anyhoo, that is all I've got to report on for the time being, hopefully won't take ages to get used to these new tablets, they are making my head feel wonky to say the least.

Crump

[cjbarnes5294]

Citalopram didn't work for me either, so I really hope the Venlafaxine works better for you, Daniel. They say that it can take around a month before they take effect, so hang in there.

I think I will have to add a WD to the collection at some point then, given that rather glowing review, although I must have a layout first! No matter, I'd rather wait for Farish to bring a new clean one out without the topfeed cover, so that probably means waiting at least another year. I wouldn't mind an A2 or Mech Navy at some point as well but first, layout!

That looks really nice Chris.

Thanks!

I approached the subject of a model layout with the wife the other day and she agreed I could have the 2nd bedroom (a healthy 11' by 8') all to myself for a model rail layout
Sadly there is a small stipulation.. our children have to grow up and leave first! So I guess I have over a decade to plan it all out

Perhaps you could persuade Mrs Gillam that it would be a good hobby to share with the kids whilst they're growing up?

Chris

[WillColeman]

Well here is a layout that i have been working on for almost 2 years now, based on my local station but as it was in the 1950's - 1960's. We haven't actually got the platforms put in but they are at the other end near the house, there is a canal board to go on the front and another 4ft board at the other end, and it has to be finished by September..

[Crumplezone]

Well just a quick update from me.

I'm still abit knocked about by the new meds but doing better with it, haven't really been able to work much upon the N guage layout unfortunately due to health b eing abit to pot but I've been able to get a few things while not being able to do the things I wanted.

Firstly on recommendation of Chris I ended up picking up the Cumbrian Mountain Express collector's pack which gives you Duchess of Hamilton the mk1s and the signal box. I was surprised on the quality of the new re-tooled duchess and just how well they have got the imposing size of the duchess down part. I gave it a run in and proved to be a relatively decent runner out of the box though with abit of side to side wobble at first which eventually sorted itself out after more running in.

A minor niggle with the following on my duchess:



Basically, the part pointed to on one side was over tightened in assembly and it wasn't moving, while it did not actually effect the Duchess moving or its performance it was noticable especially when the opposite side moved just fine. A hour of coaxing and tweezer bending and abit of oil lubricant I managed to get the part to be less stiff and it moves abit more freely, its not as "loose" as the opposite side but atleast it is moving properly now.

I would say the duchess while having a coreless motor is alittle louder than the 4F and other coreless motor locos currently available on the market, mind is alittle louder in reverse than forward but that doesn't matter to much. I feel a fair bit of noise comes from the wheel bogie under the cab and the front bogie to. However running capacity is excellent on it, I plonked 7 mk1s behind it and it didn't struggle whatsoever.

One comment I will add is I don't quite like the yellow coloured part of the wheels under the cab so I'm probably going to darken that down at some point. I do have a video of the duchess running on my ipad, I just need to figure out how to get it onto the computer then upload to youtube at some point.

Beside the duchess I grabbed from rails of sheffield (where the duchess pack came from, ehattons didn't have any) from there ebay store a assortment mk1 double pack of camine cream and a weathered maroon so that has nicely add to my coach fleet.

Alongside this I also picked up the new Mansuell N class from Rails of sheffield. I saw a review for it in the hornby magazine and quite liked what they wrote about it and it arrived yesterday in the post. Its a super silent runner, smooth as silk and the livery is beautifully applied to it, I picked up the late crest BR mixed traffic lined version which looks fab. I would recommend it for purchase even outside of area of interest, its just a lovely model and the detail of it is amazing.

I'm really quite liking thesen ew coreless motor models Graham Farish is using, its a real step up from the older motors which were used and they got kegs of power to.

Next on my buylist will be a guagemaster controller for control of the inner loop of the plan and also to buy 10 peco n guage butterly mineral wagon kits, they sit at £3.50 a kit, snap together and just require painting. I've managed to pull my Vejello Game colour paintset out of the loft so I'll be able to paint them up in silver then attempt some dry brush weathering to grub them up abit, I plan to have the WD pull those around the layout once done and I think they are quite a cost effective way to get a bulk of wagons setup.

So I have a nice little fleet of locos now which include the 4F, Duchess, WD 2-8-0, ivatt 2mt and N class. So I've got atleast 3 mixed traffic allowing for a abit of variety in passenger and freight operation and dedicated fast passenger and a dedicated heavy freight slogger locos to.

I do want to get atleast a further loco in the form of a tank loco, I haven't decided what yet, may wait for the Jinty to come out in BR colours first or opt for a dapol pannier or Ivatt tank, see how things go.

Anyway thats all for now, I'll try get the video up at some point and get some shots of the N class, not a aweful lot of pics available of that on the internet right now for some reason or another which is abit odd.

Crump