Tullygrainey

Clogherhead- modelled at a scale of 4 nunpuns to the paragraph.

Thank you. And thanks for posting these photos. Alan

Points control on The Stone Yard is purely mechanical and each can be operated from front or back of the layout. This is useful because at home the layout sits with its back against a wall. Long rods run from front to back under the board, with a knob at each end for moving them back and forward. Each has attached to it the brass insert from an electrical screw (choc-bloc) connector with a 1mm diameter brass pin soldered to it. The pin passes up through a slot in the board into the hole in the points tie bar, as in the pic below. The plastic body of the choc bloc is just there to help guide the long rod and prevent the pin dropping out of the tie bar. I can't claim ownership of this method. I think I saw it, or something like it, on RM Web. The system works fine but the soldered joint is the weak point and the failure at the UMRC show wasn't the first time one of them has come apart. I've now redone the joins on all four points, wrapping the brass round the carrier and soldering on three sides. Should be a bit stronger. We'll see.

He’s a hardcore punster

Many thanks for taking and sharing these images Patrick. You've done the Stone Yard proud! PS You did ok as a trainee narrow gauge driver

The Stone Yard had its second public outing at the Ulster MRC's exhibition in Belfast this weekend. It behaved itself well again, apart from one failed set of points - that fitter in charge the soldering iron has been doing sub-standard work again. He'll be docked a day's pay for that. Thanks to UMRC for a well organised and very enjoyable show. Special thanks too to Kieran Lagan and Patrick Davey for vital help and support with running the layout over the two days. Also thanks to Patrick for some fine photos of the occasion.

Fingers crossed for you here too for the next stage

These look very at home Patrick

That's coming together very nicely David. I've been poring over this since you posted it. Love to see the stages as structure emerges from plain sheets of metal and there's always something to learn from others' techniques. Your chassis looks suitably robust. A great start. Good luck with the rest of the build.

Finally settled on a number for the BCDR 2-4-2T. No.7 was delivered from Beyer Peacock in 1896 and lasted until 1949. Number plates made from brass with Railtec transfers. Some weathering of the chassis before it got a DCC Concepts chip and stay-alive. This all fits in the boiler, leaving plenty of room for lead in the tanks and cab. Crew getting to know their new charge. And we have movement, though what a passenger working is doing at a commercial harbour, I've no idea. IMG_0607.MOV

I'm a definite for: GNR(I) JT class 2-4-2T BCDR 2-4-0 tender loco "The Famous No.6"

Towards the end of my career, I shared offices with folk who were too young to remember imperial measure and were baffled by it. I felt I ought to provide them with guidance. I'm not sure it helped.

He was

A grand day out Patrick. We certainly packed plenty into it. Thanks again for a very enjoyable guided tour.

Wonderful stuff David! Trailer no. 5 has come out beautifully and in record time too! It looks perfect behind the railcar.

The patient has made a recovery. The builder is feeling a bit better too. Plenty of time between stages to evade disaster and a better result with the airbrush this time. Paint was too thick before and the air pressure maybe a bit high at 15psi? 12psi used this time with paint like melted ice-cream. Rivets courtesy Railtec and lining from Fox Transfers. Phew.

Busy day! Great stuff Patrick. Who knows what the Sisters are up to. Anyway, it’s nun of our business. Do you think we should have a whip-round to get Mr Weaver a new suit? Sure the knees are out on them oul trousers.

That's a real shame David. It's always worth trying to rescue a project that's gone awry but sometimes a new start is the better option. Recognising that we've reached that point and accepting it is the hard bit. The new chassis will be all the better for the lessons learned, I'm sure. Good to hear that NPQ will feature in a future RM. Look forward to that. In the meantime, the only way is up Alan PS I like the quartering jig. I think I can see how it works.

Agree David. Sticking to the same manufacturer makes sense and is probably the safest option. Mix and match can be uncharted territory, especially if it includes using both enamel and acrylic as well as different brands! Some of us court disaster. I'm learning from my mistakes, but very slowly I tend towards enamels for weathering too. I find the longer drying time works to advantage, allowing more time to get the effects I want, such as when using the common technique of applying a thin wash and wiping most of it off to leave 'dirt' in the crevices and panel lines. I've had the odd disaster doing this with acrylics, when the paint dried before I could wipe it off properly, leaving a very patchy, totally unrealistic result. I know it can be done but I haven't cracked it yet.

Thanks for this David. Much useful advice here. I'd never have thought of gun blue or marker pen to deal with that perennial problem of paint chipping or wearing off sharp metal edges. I seem to be forever touching in those little bits of glinting brass! I'll remember that one. I'm more able now to take the setbacks in my stride than I might've been a few years back. It's not the end of the world, most things are fixable and I have a range of vocabulary for taking the edge off the frustration

Thanks Patrick. We're definitely going by the scenic route.

If you've looked at any of my posts about previous builds in this thread, you'll know that I usually mess up the painting stage, and in a different way each time. Well, in keeping with tradition... I wasn't entirely happy with the finish of my air-brushing efforts but was prepared to settle for it. However, a coat of satin varnish, intended to give a smooth surface for the lining transfers, reacted with the paint and produced whitish 'bloom', for want of a better description, over most of the panel work. I thought this only happened when acrylic was sprayed over enamel but this was acrylic on acrylic! I suspect I sprayed the varnish too soon, before the paint was well and truly cured. This is what you get for proceeding without a ready supply of patience. So... hello cellulose thinners, hello again brass, hello again etch primer. Writing this whilst taking a break from riveting. Again. Forwards and backwards, in no particular order. Alan

I think we should start a 'Tool of the Week' thread. Anoraks optional.

I enjoy The Repair Shop too and am in awe of the skills on display but all too often I find myself saying to the screen "Wait, wait! Where did you get that tool?, What sort of glue is that?, Show me that again, slowly"

Do those pesky gulls never sleep?