2MM FENCE HOUSES MODEL FOUNDRY

More of Victoria

2012-02-12T10:50:00.000-08:00

Team member John Robson and his wife Rita recently made their first trip to view Victoria viaduct close up. John sent me this photo, which struck me as showing how enormous the bases are for this listed structure. John's glamorous assistant here poses by one of the north side piers, where some of the scribbling of the local idiots does not detract from Victoria's (and Rita's) magnificence.

John's photo reminded me of a rather primitive drawing I'd been sent when researching the project, from the publication 'Fordyce - A History of Durham'. This shows Victoria under construction (1836-8), with the timber staging required to support the masonry above, a couple of derrick's for moving stone blocks around, and what may be a temporary contractors railway in place for supplying the stonework to the site.

Less than 4 weeks to Nottingham now, better get a move on!

Bob.

Lambton 'D' Pit Headgear Etch

2012-02-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

I made a posting here dated 29th March 2011, ending with the words "back down the pit" or something like that. Well here's what I'd started back then, after looking on and off at the 'Wrightscale' etched brass kit in a drawer for the previous 3 years (you may remember the kit being advertised in the 2mm Scale Association Magazine). Mr Wright also did the kit in 4mm scale, and I think they are still available.

Like many kits, there are quirks and 'incomplete' parts to the instructions. Even having to drill holes for some of the handrails in the floors (not lining up with the post centres) and some missing words on a page, I am still delighted with the kit and the efforts it took to (nearly) complete the model as seen here.
When I bought the kit I also availed myself of the additional etch that was on offer for a spare set of sheaves (wheels). These can be left lying around representing a spare set at the pit.
A long time afterwards I was looking at the kit etches and noticed that the main kit sheaves are about 2.5mm bigger in diameter than the additional etch! The axle bearings on both etches are exactly the same size, so it's not a case of the sheave only etch being 'shrunk' to a different scale. Weird, but as the sheaves are cosmetic only, it will not matter in my case.

The finished headgear will be situated on top of the roof of the colliery building next to the winding house on my little representation of Lambton 'D' pit on Fence Houses.

I'm now awaiting the latest test sheet back from the etchers any day now, and with various walkways, stairs and lots of wall and roof windows for the colliery buildings, I should be able to finish all the buildings in time for the Nottingham show in 5 weeks time...... hopefully!
Bob.

Bringing the video links together

2011-10-29T06:30:00.000-07:00

Not sure if this is the best way to display these links, but this will do to start with, at least they are all together and accessable by just one click!
Thanks to Ian Morgan and Mick Simpson for the videos.

1st is the FHMF 2FS 9F kit 2007.
2nd is the inaugral run in and out of the garage 2010.
3rd is the first test run at the Blyth club premises prior to the 50th anniversay Expo at Oxford 2010.
4th and latest to date is the NEFG meeting at the Blyth club 2011.

Bob.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a394fqgsXVk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqxEbDtc0To
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kO6pBINLTI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qzn8BLj7Ak

AGM, Black 5 update, and a Fry-up

2011-10-24T02:00:00.000-07:00

That time of year again, and good news from the AGM down in Aldershot for one member of the Fence Houses team.
The last posting here was about Simon's model of Wapping Bridge Signal Cabin, and guess what? Simon was awarded the Malcolm Stone Trophy. We liked the box anyway, but now Simon has the icing on the cake.
9F's breeding? Well that's what the comment was in the 2mm Magazine for August-September 2011. See the magazine photo of the two locos built by David Smith of Essex, from the FHMF kit. I hear that David won The Groves Trophy for one of them, so well done David (maybe I'll get round to finishing my own second one now!)
Talking about finishing things, we have been working on the layout (no, it's not 'finished' yet) after the Blyth show last August, but what with various illnesses in the team, plus a general slowing down due to lethargy and old age, well at least for me, we have still a way to go to where we want to get to. However, we have the Newcastle show at Gateshead International Stadium in just under three weeks now (12th-13th November) to look forward to, so no doubt the adrenaline will come pumping back in time to fire us all up again. Hope to see some of you there.
One thing I have done since Blyth is resurrect the prototype build of the Black 5 kit that had been languishing on the 'damaged' shelf, following a serious wheel slip and a bending of one of the coupling rods. I was expecting a complete strip down of the chassis to put things right, but was amazed at the fact that I just pushed all the wheels back in to 'quarter', and force re-bent the offending rod, to produce a 99% acceptable situation. I suppose my 'just go for it' attitude helped, as I was not expecting it to work, and nothing would have been lost anyway. See the attached two photos, which shows the loco still unpainted of course, despite chivvying from certain team members. Sorry, but I just like the gleaming brass fittings, nickel silver and white metal....... even at an exhibition. At least people can see the origins of the thing, and that it's not just another Chinese import (superb as they may be these days).

Finally, how not to handle your expensive DCC chips!
It's been a long time since I dismantled a Mashima motor to clean the commutator of carbon, and on re-assembling the parts, it's important to remember the insulating washers go next to the steel body, not on the outside of the wire contact strips/brush holders!

Have fun. Bob.

Simon says.......

2011-08-07T09:15:00.000-07:00

Fence Houses team member Simon Perkins has been saying for some time that he has "nearly finished" Wapping Bridge signal box. It's been quite some time coming, but we finally got delivery last Wednesday, and all I can say is, that it's more than worth the wait! We now all need lessons from Simon in brickwork painting and weathering!
This little box is adjacent to the down main line, and controlled the southern end of the four track section junction that ultimately ends at another signal box, Penshaw North (see previous postings). There was approximately 1.5 miles between the two real boxes, but as previously mentioned in an earlier posting, our boxes are only 1.5mtrs apart. Hopefully no one will notice the lack of distance, once they see the effort and quality of the work that has gone in to the models!
These two shots show the box in position, but not finally installed, as we intend to put a retaining wall at the sides and rear, to hold back the earthworks. Simon can show us then how to create the fantastic painted finish he has achieved.

Bob.

Moving Pictures

2011-07-16T00:33:00.000-07:00

Further to my last posting, and the still photos previous to that, here's the link to the video made by Mick at the 8th July meeting of the North East Finescale Group (NEFG). This local group comprises modellers interested in all scales/gauges.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Qzn8BLj7Ak
Class 24 diesels abound as the motive power. We've spent that much time progressing the layout that steam loco servicing has taken a back seat. Something we shall be addressing shortly, with the upcoming August exhibition in mind!
As it seems a bit odd not having any photos in a posting, here's one of Black Boy Bridge at the 'exit stage left' location. Nothing to do with ethnicity, more to do with black faced coal miners from the local pits!
Bob.

Oh yes it is, Oh no it's SNOT!

2011-07-14T12:58:00.000-07:00

No pictures this time, but today's proceedings at North Shields culminated in my previously slippy 9F, hauling 40 of Chris Mills build of the 21t hoppers! 92099 struggled with less than 20 in times past, and we actually ran out of hoppers to put behind her this time, as she could have taken more. We did have a little wheel slip on the first circuit coming off Victoria, but not on the second, so she must have been getting in to her stride!
The reason for this transformation? That wonderfully named product "Bullfrog Snot"!
I'd applied the solution to the second pair of drivers from the front, and at the second attempt (not happy with a bumpy finish first time around) I left it to dry till I could give the engine a test on a decent train length....... that was months ago, and it's taken this long to get the whole layout up and running in test mode. Well today we tried it and I'm amazed, even though I've seen the videos before (type Bullfrog Snot in to Google and believe!)
Talking of videos, Mick has taken a new one of train movements on the layout which will be appearing shortly. I'll post the link when we get it. I've seen the initial video which I think is brilliant, but Mick's perfectionist eye has spotted something he's not happy with, so you will just have to wait a couple more days for the treat!
Bob.

Fence Houses at North Shields

2011-07-12T13:18:00.000-07:00

We've been there a week today, after setting the whole layout up for testing. It's the first time in exactly a year (since the Oxford Expo), that it's all been put together after ballasting and scenic work having been carried out, and all sorts of things have been done in an effort to get ready for the show at the end of August. It's getting near now to bringing it all back home again to finish off some other things in comfort.
Before we strip down I've taken a few photos. Compare Low Lambton Bridge with the posting on the 8th January 2011. Looking north we have the general shot of the signal box and the other station buildings behind. Note the coal drops in the right foreground. Looking south shows Alan's rendition of the pub garden, and the footbridge is now painted and populated. I should mention the fact that the buildings (with the exception of the goods shed and the coal depot office) are not yet stuck down. The signal box especially is noticeable in that the base has yet to be bedded in with ballast. However, I think we're starting to get there.

Bob.

12 Months on

2011-07-03T00:26:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it's a year since that incredible Oxford get together?
Coincidentally we are just about to set up the whole layout again for the first time in 12 months. This will be in North Shields, where we are to spend at least a week at the substantial new premises of The Blyth & Tyne MRC, where a few of us are members. The premises are only about a mile from the upcoming exhibition venue, and we're hoping that a week or so spent tweaking, altering (Les is to fit a new power booster to electrically separate the front viewing area from the rear fiddle yards), and re-checking everything will result in a stress free (you must be joking!) weekend in August. At least let's hope it won't be as hot and humid as the Oxford venue, with all the funny/peculiar DCC chip happenings that went on there on that fateful Sunday! Both Mick and Les intend making some video footage of the time we have in the clubrooms, so look out Youtube! I might take some stills as well for posting here. The attached two posters are for the August exhibition, and note the club site at http://www.railexne.com/ where more details of the attending layouts can be seen (click on 'Layouts, demos & Traders'). If you've viewed this site previously, note that the famous and well regarded NER layout Bramblewick is not now attending until 2012. Professional Artist and layout owner Tom Harland is undergoing hospital treatment at this time, and we all wish Tom the very best of health and a speedy recovery. Fence Houses still has a long way to go, especially with regard to the 'proper' stock period etc. and stock levels generally, not to mention signalling (what signalling!) but after the fantastic progress we've made since last July, we're getting there. A great big thank you to all the team from me.
One member of the team deserves a special mention. Jean. Come September we'll have been married 45 years, and she's still here, even after TWO Fence Houses! This has to be a record for someone with no interest at all in modelling, and I can only say how lucky am I! Our FH days are usually well attended for modelling purposes, but maybe some of Jean's cakes help the other team members remember another reason for coming along?
Bob.

Oh, and one last thing.

2011-05-27T04:44:00.001-07:00

In all the postings I've made here, it seems this is the first photo of the real Victoria viaduct, (this is just a part of it). I think she's beautiful, even if she is 173 years old!
She looks so slender, but those dark areas under the arches are 25 feet wide. That indicates to me not just the shear size, but how well designed and built she is.
Thinks........ must get that water effect on the model finished off.

Bob.

Even more progress at Fence Houses

2011-05-27T04:08:00.000-07:00

More of Alan's recent photos, showing the station buildings from the 'N' gauge version of 30 years ago. We have the signal box, then the goods shed (with one missing door), and showing the wooden platform extensions in the foreground. Note also the octagonal shaped cattle auction mart in the left background. Next the footbridge, which is finished apart from painting. This shot shows the Station Inn in the background, and also where I'm awaiting some etches to complete the sloping fences at the platform ends, one run of which has the paper print out in place where I've used it to check that I have the angles and length correct.

Bob

Alan Pearson's scenic work at Fence Houses

2011-05-27T02:19:00.000-07:00

After Les' article in MRJ 207, I thought I'd share with you a few photos of the latest progress on the layout, especially Alan's amazing scenic work.
These were taken by Alan at an impromptu session we had the other day, hence on some you will see a not very complimentary background (my garage, where we do most of the work these days).
The exception is the use of Mike Raithby's back-scene from Victoria viaduct, which, as the only painted back-scene we have to date, gets in on the act for most of our photography lately! There is a detail shot of some flowers at Morton wood, followed by a general shot of the wood itself, or at least our little part of it.
The other photo is of a scenic area just to the south of Morton wood, with Mike's background showing (again) to great advantage.

Bob.

Scenic Progress

2011-03-23T10:23:00.000-07:00

These two photos show some of the scenic progress made by team member Alan Pearson on board six, which has the exchange sidings, south of the station and just prior to entering the fiddle yard. The work Alan has recently put in is yielding some very impressive results, including the use of some natural material, along with an etched tree skeleton, suitably clad. Thanks Alan.
The trackwork looks rather bare without the Chris Mills hoppers filling the area!
This posting might well have been headed "is this 'N' gauge mister", thanks to Bachmann Farish products coming to the rescue on stock levels! The 3 car DMU belongs to Les Waters, and has just had 2mm Association replacement drop in wheelsets fitted. The class 24 on the left is mine, and was fitted likewise prior to last July's 50th bash at Oxford. The B1 has only recently arrived at Fence Houses, and is awaiting wheel reprofiling....... when I pluck up the courage! Well if Mick can do it on a 4MT, then I'll have a go too. Watch this space.
Ah well, back down the pit (what does he mean I hear you ask, well keep checking the blog and find out!)
Bob.

Low Lambton Farm Access Bridge

2011-01-08T06:13:00.000-08:00

This slightly unusual bridge is situated just a few yards south of Penshaw North box, which featured in my last couple of postings. Well it seems unusual to me, because of the mix of masonry materials used. I'm guessing, but it looks like The North Eastern Railway built their side over the four track main and relief lines part in the more pleasing (and presumably expensive) stone, whereas the colliery lines made do with a more economical brick version for their part of the structure. As used on the previously mentioned signal box, Slater's Plastikard has been used for the brick and stone work. In reality the actual bridge metalwork seems to have been in two parts as well. Though indistinct, photographs appear to show a different design for the platework for the two sections. Again, the colliery span differs, and seems to be provided with fewer strengthening uprights on the sides. Regardless of this I've etched the whole span in one design as shown here. Note the colliery lines on the layout are to be out of sight under the embankment on this baseboard, and also partly out of sight on the two adjacent boards as well. One photo shows the situation without the removable embankment section in place. The other photos show the embankment in place. The colliery lines are diving down to pass under the main lines here, so that they are out of sight by the time the main lines reach Victoria viaduct, which caters for only the up and down lines. On the photo looking south along the lines, the track to Low Lambton Farm can be made out coming off the bridge on the right hand side, while on the left hand side you can see where we are to represent the actual Lambton railway colliery lines, lifted and abandoned. Apart from the bridge and masonry, it's obvious that much scenery and greenery has yet to be done, but we are getting there, and we should start using the electrostatic grass applicator soon. Some of you may be interested in the fine gauze type netting we have used to cover the polystyrene and removable embankment sections in. This was bought from Aldi about a year ago, and was sold as winter protection for vulnerable garden plants! Applied using pva glue (before and after laying in place), it sets and gives a finish when dry, a bit like fibre glass. Seems ideal for painting with enamel (nothing water based obviously due to the previous application of pva), and should be ideal for our requirements.
Happy New Year, Bob.

Penshaw North Box - The Dark Side

2010-12-07T05:07:00.000-08:00

Like our nearest celestial neighbour, this is the side you wont ever see....... unless you are an operator on the layout peering over the top of the backscene.
Forgot to include this view in yesterday's posting, so two postings in two days!
Also forgot to include any build details in the previous missive. The whole thing, excluding the brick base supports is an etching in my normal 0.25mm thick nickel silver . The brick wall under the chimney in this shot is also part of the etch. The box itself comprises the main three layers, representing the front and rear 'sliding' windows (which don't) and the outer framework 'wood' parts. In addition at the top, is another overlay representing the barge boards and guttering. The main roof is half etched and rolled to shape prior to soldering on (slots and tabs for location). There is some internal detailing in progress, such as the lever frame, table and chair etc. but I have not yet started the glazing........ should be fun! After all this is finished the box will be permanently secured to the floor. There will be the operating wires to run down the inside of the wall of course, but I'm not sure how far we'll go with the point rodding yet. One of many detailing jobs that will need tackling sometime. All Handrails and posts are etched to shape. I know some people don't go for this as the sections come out square as opposed to round. The brick bases are in 4mm scale embossed brickwork Plastikard. I don't mind these scale deviations, as from NVD (normal viewing distance) they are hardly if ever noticed. Be honest, like the over scale brickwork, did you really notice the square handrails before I told you? If you did, bear in mind the enlargement of the photos. The four layer thick support girders for instance are 110mm long x 10mm high, and the brick supports are 40mm high. Drop the sizes down to these figures and take another look.
I've spent quite some time on the painting and weathering. Anyway, I pleased with it, though I'm no Mike Raithby!
No modelling yet today, as I've been out on the shovel again this morning in readyness for the weekly get together tomorrow. From upstairs it looked like just a cm thick, but when I tackled it it was more like 3cm, plus the ice my neighbours over the road had left me to clear up after their departure for the daily grind. It's so much harder to shift after it's been compacted!
Talking of tomorrow, we're hoping to get a first try with the two newly acquired ESU radio control handhelds for the ECoS. Another learning curve! At least we will be in the warmth of the house instead of the garage.
Bob.

Penshaw North Signal Box

2010-12-06T09:15:00.000-08:00

The rather excessive snow around the North East having curtailed various other activities, has at least kept me fit with all the shovelling, and has enabled some progress to be made with the box. As an appeasement to the villagers of Penshaw and it's station (located between Fence Houses and Victoria viaduct), which have for space reasons been omitted from the layout, I have at least made a decent effort to model the overtrack signal box at the junction. The box spans four tracks here, and was kept busy even in the late 60's, according to one of the signalman, Neville Whaler.
Nev has sent me loads of photos of the box (one of himself at the controls is above), along with various shots of just some of the adjacent lattice signals. Lots of etching work to do now to get this lot incorporated on to the layout!
The box is not fully fitted yet, so still a few hours more work to do on all the bits and pieces, but nearly there.
Note the outside 'netty' (NE for toilet) and the little crane for hauling a bucket of coal up to the box. Apparently it was safer than going up and down the stairs!

Bob.

Oh Ballast!

2010-10-27T01:04:00.000-07:00

It may seem from the lack of posts that nothing is being done......... far from it!
The first exhibition is now only 10 months away and we are under pressure, though enjoying it (well David will be when he finishes re-building his house).
We have now finished applying the track ballast, and are in the middle of cleaning up and making sure the trains will run again.
Some of the basic scenery has been applied, but there will be no more until we are fully finished on the trackwork/ballast. No point in hampering yourself by putting things in the way!
Happy modelling, Bob.

The shunting plank

2010-07-30T09:48:00.000-07:00

Been a while since I posted, so for anyone who did not make it, here is a photo from Expo at Oxford.
Not mine, but one of Paul Martin's for which I have permission to show.
In order to get said permission I did agree to state:- "This awesome image created by the skill wit and judgement of master-photographer P. Martin Esq."
Thanks Paul!

Bob.

Fence Houses - The Full Monty!

2010-05-07T08:26:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a very momentous day for all concerned.
I agree with Nick, but then there's Gordon and David....... sorry I'll start again.
Late night watching part of the election results, then up early and out to Harrogate this morning for the Model Engineer's Show has taken it's toll!
Seriously, what a day we had yesterday (Thursday). After postponing the previous two days due to what turned out to be incorrect weather forecasts, we set about adding to the four baseboards I'd already set up under cover in the garage in readiness. Then came the drizzly rain, and a few cups of tea.....then lunch....then the first board....then more drizzle and plastic sheets, but finally some dry though dull weather. We decided to go for it.
All 14 baseboards went up as best we could, and we did well, considering the very unlevel area at the front of the house. Aldi's work stands are great, and will be even better when I install the height adjusters (screwed rod with knobs on) to the top rail.
Chris Mills plus wagons, then Mick and Yvonne all arrived to add to us lot (me, Les, Simon and David......'our' David that is, not the other one), and then the time came to turn the power on. Big fat Zero! Nothing but a dull red 'stop' light on the Ecos power unit.
What to do now? Fortunately Les had designed in some terminal block breaks on each board, and with Chris' help they soon isolated the problem area.
This was down to me. One red wire feed in a black position, and vice versa had the whole job stopped. Out with the soldering iron and five minutes later the red light had gone, and we were away!
Mick captured the first complete circuit on his mobile phone....see http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqxEbDtc0To and I've added a couple of stills here to record the event for posterity.
Still a very long way to go, but we are all really looking forward to bringing "the big test track" to Expo, so we can start learning how to operate it!

Bob.

Fence Houses layout plan

2010-02-09T06:16:00.000-08:00

I'm posting the layout plan here for the first time. It's in three parts, which can be cut out and joined at 'A' and 'B', to give the full plan (38'-6" x 9'). Originally it was 'only' 37'-0"long, but we have extended board 6 by a further 18", and because of that, board 12 also to match. Most of the track layout worked as planned, but the final stretch before reaching the end board 7 just ran out of space.
With a layout this big, what does an extra 18" matter!
At the viaduct end, compare the plan with the photo from my posting of 25th February 2009.
A lot of the latest track used is Easitrac. On the previous post this is much in evidence, coupled to the F.H. etched chairplated pointwork system. There are quite a few 'one off' shaped turnouts on view and it has all worked out quite well.
Note the track at the ends of the boards is all soldered construction.

Bob.

2010 Expo 2mm

2010-02-09T05:22:00.000-08:00

Seeing the name Fence Houses in the February 2mm magazine really brings it home. Less than 5 months to go and still so much to do! I've said from the start when asked to bring the layout to Oxford that it will not be finished, far from it, but at least we're on the final few boards now with the track laying and electric's. Finishing the Black 5 project meant I was not able to meet the target for completion of track laying by the end of 2009, but with a layout nearly 40ft long you can imagine how much is involved. Anyway, what we have is looking good, though by Expo time there will still be little scenic treatment started. As for the trackwork, how is it all wired then? Well as we all know, with DCC "it's only two wires". Oh really? Have a look at the underside photos of the main station board and judge for yourself! We have in total some 50 turnouts, diamonds and single slips on the layout, mostly now installed and wired up to my ESU Ecos controller, with it's 'touch screen' technology. Les Waters, one of the original F.H. team from the 'N' gauge version of 30 years ago, has all this is in his very capable hands, thank goodness! We are now using the point motor kits from South West Digital Ltd (usual disclaimer) http://www.southwestdigital.co.uk/ (click on point motor control) in conjunction with the ESU Switch Pilot Servo, and this is proving to be a very worthwhile investment, although for now we are leaving in position the Tortoise motors previously installed on the first couple of boards already wired up. It will be interesting to see the comparison over the coming months and years of operation! As can be seen, some of the SWD point motors are on top of the station board and will be out of sight behind the backscene when this is fitted later. We did this for ease of access for any adjustment in the initial setting up, and for any that may be necessary later. This location aspect also helped due to congestion of pointwork, especially at this northern end of the station area. At the southern end the four servos can be seen fitted underneath, with the decoder that operates them via the Ecos controller.
What you will see at Expo, will in effect be a giant test track, with the operating team very much on a learning curve. We shall be very pleased if it all just works without any serious mishap!
What we intend to attain eventually, will take a lot more time and effort.
'Completion' is planned to be in August 2011, at the 50th anniversary show of The North Eastern Railway Association. This is to be hosted by the Blyth club and will be held at North Shields, Tyneside. It promises to be a very special event indeed, as we have some quite iconic layouts (in various scales and periods from pre-grouping through to BR) in our sights!
Fence Houses then has a second outing at The Newcastle show (Gateshead International Stadium) in the following November. So, you can see that after the 2mm Expo, we have some breathing space to get into place the scenery, signals, buildings and all the other hundreds of things needed to 'complete' the project.
In 2012 the NE area group will be 30 years old, so we might even get an invite to that as well!
Mention of buildings reminds me. I intend to use at least for starters, the Plastikard buildings from the original 'N' gauge layout. Considering their age the condition is very good, and of course the time saved in using them will be most welcome!
We have amassed quite a few 'N' coaches now, some with turned down wheels (thanks Mick!), and even a few main line diesels and a couple of DMU's for conversion. Steam traction will be converted to DCC as time permits after the track laying is finished, and Chris Mills is very busy making what seems like thousand's of 21t hoppers and 16t minerals for us to borrow.
If anyone out there has a DCC loco they would like to see 'stretching it's legs', on what is probably going to be 'the biggest 2mm finescale layout in the world' (!) then make yourself known beforehand, and you may well find your offer accepted. On the day we intend to have a separate test track / loading gauge available to try things out prior to letting anything lose on the layout proper, just to be on the safe side!

Bob.

At last....... the Black 5

2009-12-17T05:02:00.000-08:00

After many happy hours (!) here she is folks.
I'm still tweaking the last couple of pages of the instructions, but they've all been read and vetted by knowledgeable people, so they should be correct now! I was going cross eyed, as I read and re-read them so many times myself, I had to call for help!
A c.d. of the instructions (18 x A4 written pages and 110 sequence photographs on a further 14 pages) will be sent off (after Christmas now....... don't want them getting lost) to the relevant authorities, and the sets of artwork will be sent to the etchers within the next week.
The castings should be available by the time the etchings are ready, so it's all about to happen in the New Year.

Talking of which, all the best to modellers everywhere, for Christmas and 2010. See you at Expo in July!

Victoria viaduct - latest picture

2009-10-16T07:31:00.000-07:00

Victoria has a new home, courtesy of ABS Cases Company in London.
This is fellow 2mm modeller Alan (Midsomer Norton) Smith's business. See MRJ No 184 for Alan's layout article.

Alan has all manner of sophisticated machinery in his workshop to produce the goods, and excellent products they are too.
He has even produced a layout name board for us. See the photo.

Les of the Fence Houses team, was down south visiting his mother in Norfolk, and went on to Alan's place to collect not only Victoria's case, but some baseboard parts for his own planned layout of Hornsey Shed.

The case should keep Victoria nice and snug for her trip to the Oxford Expo next July. The other thirteen baseboards of the layout will not be getting the same VIP treatment as Victoria, but we hope to get them into a reasonable shape for viewing by the time of the show, Watch this space!

Bob.

As seen at the AGM 3/10/09

2009-10-04T08:44:00.000-07:00

The Black 5 was shown running in this latest state, complete with quite a few of the lost wax castings added (some temporarily) to the loco and tender for the event.
Various other alternative lost wax boiler fittings will be supplied with the kit.
The white metal one piece smokebox / boiler / firebox casting (again fitted temporarily until properly 'fettled' and cleaned up) gives the weight missing from my 9F with it's resin cast boiler, and is noticeable in the running, seeing to give the impression of the mass and weight of a larger scale loco (or am I just imagining it!)
If I say so myself, the running on the day matched the look of the kit shown here.
The next build, probably the longer wheel base Ivatt type, will form the basis of the instructions, which I now need to complete to finally finish off this kit for The Association.
The riveted tender shown here has the cruciform type of axlebox covers. There are alternative Timkin type covers available for the kit.

Bob.

Easitrac Test Track

2009-04-06T08:39:00.000-07:00

Just bringing the track standards upto date for the latest 9F photos.
My very rough (in terms of appearance) previous test track was doing 2mm no favours!
There's not much track on view here anyway, but it's better than the original (and now at least on a par with the Black 5 photos).

Bob.

Jake the peg........

2009-03-11T01:33:00.000-07:00

"With his extra leg........"
Wanting to get the Black 5 test etch away late last year, and needing something to fill up the sheet, I managed to 'adjust' my NER lattice footbridge kit details to suit the specific variant sited at Fence Houses station.
This had an extra leg going down to road level at the adjacent crossing. The other two legs were at platform level.
I managed a 'dodge' on the original 'N' Fence Houses all those years ago by installing a plastic card leg to the George Allen kit then in use. This new etching shown here is as the prototype.
The photos show the unexpected progress managed at last weekends local Birtley exhibition demo stand. Even allowing for all the Q & A's which take place, the two day event allowed me to mark up another notch in the layout's progress.
Further progress is required to fit all the treads, but that will have to wait till the Black 5 is finished.

Bob.

The final baseboard

2009-02-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

Baseboard 14 has just been completed. This is the last board to be made for the layout, and can be seen in place behind Victoria viaduct in the photo. The tracks on this board are the up and down colliery lines, which at this point are 35mm below the height of the main lines on the viaduct. The backscene (not in place on the photo) separates the viaduct from the colliery tracks, so these will not be seen in normal viewing mode at exhibitions (assuming we get an invite to one!)
Trackwork is now some 65% complete for the whole layout, with significant progress having been made lately, when compared to the previous 25 years! The regular Wednesday "Fence Houses" days have been a great boost. Thanks Les, David and Simon.
The introduction of Easitrac has not yet had it's full impact on F.H. as we have been re-wiring and fitting DCC components to boards previously started and conventionally wired for DC. However, the 'colliery' board, immediately north of the station board has been Easitrac fitted, and sufficient stocks now mean we anticipate completion of all trackwork by the end of 2009.
We have in fact stopped tracklaying in the southerly direction towards the station area for the time being, and have headed north and back over Victoria and onwards into the fiddle yards, the start of which can be seen in the lower foreground of the photo. The reason for the change in direction being that the plain copper clad and strip rail used here can be laid and completed whilst we are on building the etched chairplated pointwork configurations in and around the station areas.

Bob

Black 5 kit update

2009-02-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

Just a few shots of work in progress on the first test build for those of you signed up the kits.
Most things on the etch (see previous posting) have worked fine but one or two didn't and have been redesigned to make things easier for the builder. Also now done are most of the casting masters for the various boiler fittings (but not yet the boilers themselves), although I've taken advantage of the second (hopefully the last) test etch, to include some more small items that will be incorporated in such things as the masters for the different types of top feed employed on these locos.

Bob.

Another end of year report (Black 5 kit this time)

2008-12-20T06:38:00.001-08:00

Strictly speaking the Black 5 kits are of course The Associations project, so were not included in my previous posting. However, I have now agreed with the powers that be that we can release some photographic evidence of what we've been up to over the last year.
Firstly an apology from me for the delayed completion date, which was aimed provisionally for October just gone. I just got involved in too many etching contracts.
Anyway I'm now back on the modelling bench, having just received the first test etch for one of the loco variants, and the next two to three months should see my design and casting master production element complete. It will then be down to the etchers and casting manufacturers to come up with the goods, not to mention our heroic shop keeper(s) who will have to supply the other bits and parcel everything up etc.

All three tender types (3-605 (Riveted), 606 (Part Welded), 607 (Welded) have been designed and reached test build stage. The photo is of the riveted type.

The other photo is of the etch of the loco parts, some of which will not be present as etches in the kit, as the intention is to make them up for use as masters for casting purposes.

I hope this posting will please those of you who have placed orders with The Association, as we all look forward to a successful conclusion to the project.

Did you know........... I have a photo of a Black 5 hauled train in Newcastle Central, after arriving from Liverpool and substituting for a failed diesel.
So I will be able to use the trial build on Fence Houses after all!

Seasons greetings (again) to all.

Bob.

End of year report

2008-12-20T01:27:00.000-08:00

Despite little being reported here over the last couple of months, the team have been beavering away on the 'Fence Houses' layout trackwork, wiring and fitting of Tortoise point motors. The latest board to be completed with these items is the 'colliery' board, which leads into the main station area, where some interesting pointwork formations will be required.
David and Simon are currently on with a couple of curved turnouts for the goods yard, and Les and yours truly have been engrossed with wiring and testing the DCC functions required (well Les has, I'm just the apprentice here).

Three of the boards (21ft) were recently set up for a local North East finescale group meeting (2mm to 7mm interests), and Mick pointed out how little impression my total stock made on the scene!
Even the sight of the 9F, pulling (amongst other items of stock) my four NER pre-grouping liveried coaches could not improve the view, and I have now acquired some more (BR) coaching stock for conversion to finescale.

Victoria was also on view in the garage, for some of the group attending the event who had not met her before, and to finish this last posting of the year, I thought this shot of her complete with Chris Mills's very nice builds of my 21t hopper kits would do very nicely.

Victoria is on her own in terms of finished scenery cladding to date, but I'm determined the layout will be joining her within the next 3 years. It's all getting quite exciting now, after all the 'planning' and daydreaming years since the 'N' gauge version.

All the very best to one and all for Christmas and the New Year.

Bob.

Addition To Price List

2008-10-31T02:10:00.000-07:00

Some NER Mile Posts and Gradient Posts added to the Product / Price list.

REMEMBER to CLICK on the image for and ENLARGED version!

Have a break NOT a Kit Kat moment!

2008-08-10T03:07:00.000-07:00

It's some 28 years since the original ('N' gauge) Fence Houses crew experienced the first 'Kit Kat' moment.
After a track laying session it was found we had a short circuit. Various tests failed to reveal the wiring fault, so we set about stripping out some of the sections and rewiring them.
Only after some hours did we find the cause. A foil wrapper from an earlier Kit Kat snack had been left lying on the track unnoticed!
Anything that has since happened, remotely resembling the above fiasco, has since been known as a Kit Kat moment (a bit like 'The dead penguin" story, but that's another NE group tale).

Last Thursday I had another Kit Kat moment.
Les had encouraged me to have a break from the Black five project for a few hours, and have a go at chipping my first DCC loco. We would then have something to control with my brand new Ecos ESU command station, as we'd already wired up the first few layout boards for DCC. For the test however, I thought I'd use an old short length test track I had handy.
Well the decoder was temporarily installed on the loco, with the wires left long till I was sure I'd wired it up correctly (it was my first after all).
With the loco in place on the track we turned on the power to program it. No response from the loco, nothing.
Head scratching and some humming and erring followed, but to no avail, till I looked at the terminals I had hooked the controller up to.

KIT KAT! I'd only connected them to a defunct set of screw heads that had once been used for the wires on an uncoupling magnet!
Once the wires were connected to the track terminals it actually worked!
So, 28 years on and we're still having (though more high tech) fun!

Well anyway, the 9F is now chipped and working. the first of the few, with more to follow.......... after the Black 5 gets finished that is!

Bob.

Even more Easitrac

2008-06-19T12:23:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since my last posting on this blog, but here we are, caught in the act on our fairly regular Thursday get together, Mick, David, Simon, Les and yours truly.
Actually Mick just dropped by to check how we were getting on with the bulk order of Easitrac just collected from him.
We spent some 13 man hours today cutting rail, marking the top for the correct way up (!) and filing the lead end of the rail to ensure an easy passage through the chairs.
The result is 8.5 metre length in total track made, some of which can be seen in the photo. This has still to be laid, and consideration is also being given to the best way of fitting the dropper wires for electrical contact to the under board bus-bars. Probably I'll be using some of the thousands of copper clad sleepers I have with etched chairs already fitted. Might as well use them up somehow!
As I've now finally decided to go the DCC route, we plan to complete one board at a time, learning as we go, and no doubt calling on all and sundry for advice and assistance!
Thanks for viewing.

TYPICAL INSTRUCTION PAGE

2008-03-15T01:53:00.000-07:00

This C10 turnout instruction page gives the lowdown to The Fence Houses Turnout trackwork System.
Acknowledgement to Edward Sissling for the original etching idea.

PENSHAW NORTH JUNCTION (FENCE HOUSES)

2008-03-15T00:21:00.000-07:00

Pictures of some progress at Fence Houses (actually about 1.5 mile north of the station, at the two double junctions just prior to the approach to Victoria viaduct).
The trackwork is made using the Foundry's etched chairplate system (see price list).
I'm awaiting some etched tiebars at present. How do you use etched tiebars without shorting the electrics? Ah well....... wait and see till after I fit them!

The 9F kit with BR1B Tender

2008-01-31T08:41:00.000-08:00

IN THE BEGINNING

2008-01-31T08:34:00.000-08:00

Well the beginning of this blog, but I'm starting with the latest development in terms of kit production. The Mighty 9F.