RedRich

Some more bogie flat pics of a different variety. Rich,

Some bogie flat pics taken at Waterford West. Rich,

Another piece of history for guys weathering their models, taken at Waterford West. Rich,

Here are some shots of a bulk cement at Waterford West for the weathering guys. The buffer beam or headstock. Rich,

A few more signal shots. Waterford West, Gantry and wall mounted signals Waterford Plunkett, Rich,

Des if you want to put up any of my pics of the prototype signals please feel free to use them mate. Rich,

Some more prototype track at Waterford West. This is a crossing using flat bottom rail on wooden sleepers. The approach roads at the throat of Plunkett Waterford taken at Waterford West. You can see the heavier wooden sleepers on the points in the foreground when compared to the wooden sleepers on the plain track in the center road. The furthest road is a combination of CWR on concrete sleepers to the beginning of the switch. The switch itself is a continuation of the flat bottom rail on wooden sleepers. There is a fair bit of variety in that shot alone and it is common all over the network, except maybe on high speed main lines where crossovers and switches now tend to be a combination of flat bottom rail on concrete sleepers. These new switches tend to arrive on site fully built and are laid as is. This final shot is of the same roads taken from a different angle. You can see the amount of oil and grease around the mechanical part of the switch. Rich,

I thought I would upload some pics of signals for people that are going to build some of the SSM signal kits. I hope these will be of some use guys, Rich,

Here are some jigs for filing switch blades and vees. The vees can be inserted into the jig once they are ready for soldering and clamped into the jig to make soldering a breeze. I haven't mentioned this yet but I am using steel bullhead and flatbottom rail as I find nickle silver doesn't have that steel look to it that you see on the prototype. I will be using steel wheels as well after seeing a layout with steel track and steel wheels on the rolling stock at a Scalefour Society show a few years ago and it just looked right and it doesn't get half as messy of cruddy as nickle silver does. The majority of the traders now advise people to use steel rail or Hi Ni rail which has less nickle in it. The P4 Track Co only sell steel rail now. How they engineer this stuff amazes me it just looks so realistic. I will post some pics of the rail if I get a chance tomorrow. Rich,

This website is well worth a look if you are interested in hand built track http://www.handlaidtrack.com they have some excellent tutorial videos on how to use their products. They are aimed at the H0 and N market but some of their tools can be used by 00 modellers such as the filing jigs. One of the tutorial videos describes and shows exactly the method for soldering rails to copper clad sleepers that Mayner described in his last post. Rich,

Richie your a man after my own heart. Rich,

I would also say that cutting out part of the headstock or buffer beam and fixing the box of the coupler to the chassis would be a better option as has been stated. For a start it will look more prototypical as some coaches were fitted with drawhooks and buckeye couplers. Coaches at the ends of a rake have a drawhook and drop head buckeye like this and this Cut out a piece of the headstock the same width as the coupler box and fit the box in the gap you have cut out. You may have to put some packing between the floor of the coach and the coupler box to get it to sit flush. Rich,

Right guys some pics of just some of the components available through the trade. P4 Track Co 4 bolt chair P4 Track Co 4 bolt fishplate these act as insulation also as well as being cosmetic Some of the sleepers that I have colored and weathered slightly. Each sleeper is uniquely weathered and no two are ever the same. The sleepers around the mechanical area of the points will be weathered to give an oily greasy like finish. Sleepers that are usually under where a loco stops will be weathered with gunmetal to give an oily sheen. All keys on the chairs should face the same way, although I have seen the keys facing each other where two pieces of bullhead are locked by the fishplates. A weathered sleeper with 4 bolt chairs. I will dry brush the sleepers with some silver paint very lightly as sometimes timber that has been weathered by the elements can take on a silvery grey hue. I paint the chairs and rails a mixture of raw umber, burnt umber, burnt sienna, and raw sienna depending on which rails see more traffic. I have seen some interesting new weathering products for painting rusty rails from Woodland Scenics and I might invest in some to try it out, as it is always nice to find a product or alternative that is designed specifically for one purpose that actually does what it states it can do. A weathered sleeper with pandrol clips for using flat bottom track on wooden sleepers Some P4 Track Co Concrete sleeper panels. Each pack contains enough for 2 meters of track. I will split these panels in the center of the sleeper for 5 foot 3 inch rail, cut off the webbing, and bond it to my template. When it is bonded I add some ABS to fill in the gap in the width of the sleeper. Trials and experiments have been successful with this method so I will proceed with this method myself. I will upload more when I have more time guys. Rich,

Some bullhead Points in Clonmel and the associated machinery that operates the switch rails. Permission was granted for all pics that were taken on site. Rich,

Here are some pics guys of some 5foot 3 inch CWR on concrete sleepers. The rails are held in place by pandrol clips. Rich,

It's not as expensive as you might think Gareth if you are starting from scratch. If people want to stay with 16.5mm track and want bullhead rail. You can buy track panels from the P4 Track Co that have pips on the sleepers so that you only need to place the chairs over the pips (the chairs have holes in the bases for this purpose) hold it in place with a tweezer or your finger and run some Butanone around the edges of the chair. Capillary action will let the Butanone bond the sleeper to the rail for life. It's always best to thread the chairs onto the rails before bonding them to the sleepers. I know I said that I would start a build today as a way of demonstrating how I do it but something came up and it will be After Monday before I can begin. I promise that I will post up some pics and tips as I go along. Like the King said a little less conversation a little more action, and believe me guys there is way more truth in that song title about me than I could ever deny. Gareth the pics of the bogie flats will be sent tonight mate. Rich,

I can't add anymore to what John has said in his post as it pretty much sums up everything. Here are a few pics of some bullhead rail in the UK. The key would be hammered in to hold the rail in place. Rich,

Speaking of young blood. I was in my Dads during the week and he was clearing out some clutter and he came across some Railway Modeller mags dating back to the late 80's and some Beet wagons I built during my early teens. They have warped a bit over time being in a loft for 27 years takes it's toll on plasticard due to differing changes in temperature. I always had a fascination for beet trains and they were the first wagons I ever scratch built. I have a new design in mind for the wagons that I will build for the layout using half round strip from Evergreen for the corrugations. Rich,

And a coffee for the late night builders. Did you ever build any MTK kits Gareth. Colins strapline was hammer and nails required. I think he also called them the El Crappo range. Des's masterpiece looks fantastic. Gareth pm me your email adress and I will send you the pics of the bogie wagon flat underframes I promised. Rich,

Are things any different now Pat. Getting back to the kit it will be great to see some finished samples. Rich,

Here are some pics guys of the different chairs, switch and crossing chairs needed for bullhead points. There are slide chairs that the switch rails move on, Bridge chairs Check chairs Crossing chairs Switch chairs The point sleepers are wider than plain track sleepers and need to be cut to lenght Rich,

I shall oblige tomorrow. Rich,

When I first saw this topic posted earlier today I thought Anto had been converted to the beautiful game, and we were going to get the Irish football team sorted. We need to get someone with excellent soldering skills added to the list. My own are very rusty and a bit ropey at the moment, I spent to much time using solder paint on rolling stock kits, that I need to get back into the swing of using the old solid solder and flux again. Rich,

Anyone can do it Anto the time and the patience are the biggest factors involved,there are so many different products available from the trade that make it so much easier. There used to be a lot of snobbery involved in finescale track building that has thankfully been eradicated from the hobby through groups like this. you don't have to necessarily build your track to 21mm standards as it can be built to 16.5 as well. Let me know when you have time as I am sure it is a premium for you at the moment. I thought a nice piece of bullhead rail might be nice for you to display your work on as it is very common on the network but not available from Peco. If you are to busy I will build a panel for you and we'll sort something out with getting it to Casa Anto. Rich,

I will make the same offer to you Anto that I have made to Gareth regarding sending a few bits and pieces in the post to have a crack at if you would be interested as it's always nice to add another string to your bow. If you are ever down this way I'd love to have you round for a visit and some grub. You could bring the family and we can let them head down to the amusements with my missus and kids, and bring your airbrush. Rich,