Time to build a railway...but where?

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Peter Butler
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:48 pm

I think I remember reading in one of Peter Jones' books about maintenance of a garden railway and how much time could be occupied just keeping it tidy. Over the past couple of days I have been reminded of this as I was on my hands and knees clearing out all of the accumulated crud from between the rails and down the drains.....
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It certainly proves the efficiency of the drainage system as the water managed to carry away so much surface muck yet not block the pipes, I must brush the covers more frequently next year. The soil over the tracks is the after effects of rabbits digging for something?
When visitors ask about the 'extension'..... the answer is well rehearsed, enough is enough!
I still need to pull out the bush which was blown over by storm Dennis, I will try to plant it elsewhere in the hope there is enough root for it to take.
There was so much clearance to do I decided to enlist the help of a good and trusted friend, Henry was given the job of removing loose ballast etc. from the trackwork and points, many of which were locked in position with the grit trapped beneath the tie-bar.....
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On the plus side, the points which are cable operated work perfectly. The one point which is rod operated is jammed due to the crank being seized in its housing. This has happened before and I managed to free it with oil.
Eventually I managed to get a train running and gave the honour to the new girl, 'Alice', who ran sweetly hauling the Jerry Irwin coaches built during the winter.
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by FWLR » Sat Mar 28, 2020 7:40 am

Our lines are certainly high maintenance Peter. But all your hard work is well worth it when we see such a brilliant line. :thumbright:

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Andrew » Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:35 am

Peter Butler wrote: Fri Mar 27, 2020 7:48 pm I think I remember reading in one of Peter Jones' books about maintenance of a garden railway and how much time could be occupied just keeping it tidy.
I recall that too - I think I remember an article when he put a ratio on the amount of time that should ideally be spent maintaining what you've already made compared to the time spent building new stuff. I don't remember what the numbers were, but I know I've got them wrong! The idea of spending an evening or two mending the coaches I've already got is far less appealing than spending six months building a new one!

Glad you've got your line running again. Do post some photos of Alice in action, it's a lovely model.

All the best,

Andrew.

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by RobRossington » Sat Mar 28, 2020 10:00 am

High maintenance or not, it looks great!

I actually quite enjoy the maintenance side of things.

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Sat Mar 28, 2020 8:23 pm

Andrew, I found my Peter Jones book, 'Garden Railway Guides No 1' and read it through this afternoon but found no reference to the ratio of time spent on maintenance compared to operation and building new items for garden railways. It is annoying to know we both remember the article but not the figures. How many other Peter Jones books are out there?
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Andrew » Sat Mar 28, 2020 9:23 pm

I think it was in one of his regular columns in SMT...

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:36 am

Well, another milestone passed by yesterday, my 71st Birthday, which was a very pleasant occasion, just a little quiet without my local model friends to see.
However I was sent some very nice goodies to build and a personalised card which I think is worth sharing. This is a photo montage (what I call cheating really!) but is a very clever virtual gathering of some of my friends and myself (I'm far left at the front) set in my own garden railway village street scene...... brilliant!.....
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Lock-down continues and I haven''t left home for a month now, I don't feel trapped though and have so much to do, especially with my new kits.
Last edited by Peter Butler on Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:56 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by LNR » Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:44 am

Happy Birthday for yesterday Peter, someone has been quite clever with the card.
Glad your finding things to occupy yourself in these strange times.
Grant.
PS down here if your over 70 your advised to stay home, so I do :lol:

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by andymctractor » Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:57 am

Peter Butler wrote: Sat Apr 18, 2020 10:36 am (I'm far left)
Peter, first of all 'Happy belated birthday'. Also may I add that i thought politics was banned on the forum? :shock:
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Sat Apr 18, 2020 11:00 am

Yes Grant, same applies here to over 70's. As you can see from the picture, all my friends are in that position.
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by FWLR » Sat Apr 18, 2020 11:17 am

Happy Belated Birthday Peter. I completely forgot it was yesterday. :|

Not able to get out to send you a card unfortunately.

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Great virtual card from your friends.

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by ge_rik » Sat Apr 18, 2020 1:41 pm

Many Happy Tea Urns, Peter.

Looking forward to seeing shots of trains in action now you've done the maintenance. I'm glad to see Henry lending a hand. His sister, Hetty, does a similar job on the PLR from time to time.

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Andrew » Sat Apr 18, 2020 3:08 pm

Happy Birthday Peter!

That's a great card...

Have a good weekend,

Andrew

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by jim@NAL » Tue Apr 21, 2020 9:36 pm

Happy birthday peter

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:53 pm

Thank you all for your Birthday wishes...... you make a happy man feel very old!!!
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Tue Apr 21, 2020 10:54 pm

Thank you all for your Birthday wishes...... you make a happy man feel very old!!!
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Thu Apr 30, 2020 3:09 pm

So.... during 'Lock-down' what is there to do?
I thought I might do a little experiment comparing some similar kits from various manufacturers and decided to use Ffestiniog Bug Boxes as an example.
For those who might not be familiar, here's one I made earlier.....
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This is a scratch-build of one of the seven different designs currently in service on the FR in various guises. The originals date from the early 1860's and were the first passenger coaches built.
I checked out the manufacturer's sites and bought from three to begin with, although not identical vehicles they are representative of the type.
I am not comparing models for accuracy of scale or prototype detail against the original, rather for material use, manufacturing quality, method of construction, and overall appearance. Also for value for money.
For all of the models a basic tool set is required, additional aids make life easier and will be mentioned as they are used.
The basics.....
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.
First build is..... I.P Engineering, Ffestiniog Railway, First Class, No 2, Passenger Carriage.
Premier Range Kit, ... Price £54.00 (incl. postage).

The kit arrived within days of ordering and arrived in a cushioned package and tightly sealed in a plastic bag. On opening my immediate reaction was that the plywood parts felt damp to the touch. After leaving them out to dry for several hours I discovered they had twisted and curled....
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After speaking with Ivan he offered a replacement kit or refund which would have require me to go to the Post Office and pay postage... something I was not prepared to do under the circumstances. I asked for a replacement roof panel which had a 92mm split along the grain of the veneer (not ply), but that hasn't materialised up to the present time.
The panels were dampened, steam ironed and left under glass sheets for several days and I began the build following the instructions.
My first impression was that parts of the floor and seating panels are not tightly fitted at their connecting areas and it is necessary to support sections to ensure they set squarely. If this isn't achieved nothing else will fit.
The chassis is very basic with no detail. Again it must be set perfectly to make the metal wheels turn smoothly in the brass bearings supplied.....
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I fitted an additional spacer (not supplied) in order to keep the thin ply from bowing in at the centre.
Even after all my work to flatten the sides they still show signs of distortion so an additional bracing panel has been glued below the windows and a strip (neither supplied) at the top above the windows...
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More to follow....
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by SeamusOD » Thu Apr 30, 2020 6:02 pm

For someone just going through some of these old threads, so much stuff to take in and some incredible work well done
this is the great thing about these php forums this info is always here to read and easy to find no matter how late you come into the thread.
Peter wanted to ask you about the JGY370 geared motor you bought from china have you tried it yet and you mentioned ordering a 90rpm version, would like to orders some and had thought about 150rpm until I seen your post.

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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Thu Apr 30, 2020 6:06 pm

I.P Engineering Bug Box continued.....
.
As supplied the laser cut parts are still connected to the surrounding material and have to be separated with a sharp knife. This leaves tiny projections which need to be filed and sanded to give a smooth appearance.... very delicate touch required here!
The roof panel (which was split) had to be carefully repaired as well as possible and strengthened to make it usable. Also additional bracing strips have been fitted (not supplied) to give support and shape to the roof panel....
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This shows the roof forming jig which I made and works on bogie coaches too.
Without the additional supports there would be only two, centrally located under the roof, to hold it in shape and requiring the coach end panels to be glued to the roof permanently. There are no side-wall strips to give strength to the join with the roof. This addition makes the roof removable if you prefer.
In addition to the extra roof supports I have glued fine linen to the roof top to give a textured effect and disguise any damage.
The sides are single sheet ply with overlays outside, to fit the glazing sheets supplied I have fitted a groove support beneath the windows inside and an additional similar piece above to hold it in place. Two drop-lights either side are cut to give the impression of being partly open.
Underneath, the chassis slots into the space created by the longitudinal seating arrangement, as per the original. It is at a pre-set height but the body could be raised if required before gluing.
I prefer to paint overlays before fitting to give a better finish, these can be attached to the body with 'Canopy Adhesive' which dries clear and leaves no residue.
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The build is almost complete except for final paint and fittings to be attached. Included in the kit are cast whitemetal Ffestiniog buffers and door handles.
Overall impressions are that the material quality is lacking, very limited number of parts to achieve strength where it is needed, little or no interior detailing to floor, seats, back-rest etc.
The kit does include metal wheels and brass bearings which, if fitted carefully, run smoothly, also, printed instructions with coloured illustrations are adequate.
Value for money.... not great in my opinion, but when finished gives a pleasing appearance at normal viewing distance.
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Peter Butler
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Re: Time to build a railway...but where?

Post by Peter Butler » Thu Apr 30, 2020 7:01 pm

SeamusOD wrote: Thu Apr 30, 2020 6:02 pm
Peter wanted to ask you about the JGY370 geared motor you bought from china have you tried it yet and you mentioned ordering a 90rpm version, would like to orders some and had thought about 150rpm until I seen your post.
Hi Seamus, I haven't found a use for the 90rpm motor as yet, although tests show it to be strong and steady. I did buy a 30rpm motor from the same supplier, which is identical in size etc. and fitted it to a Stephenson's 'Rocket' kit, description is on the first page of my thread, 'Rocket Man' under, Open days and exhibitions. Again, it does the job very well.
Thanks for your kind comments.
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