Building Works Progress

I've been working on installing lighting in my buildings, where possible and am making good progress. Here is one I really like. I had a cast metal hurricane lamp that I was able to drill with a 1mm bit and put in a fibre optic line to a 3 volt bulb. Pretty good result, I think.

Rita's Little Shack gets a front porch hurricane lamp

An LED added to an internal wall which will end up back in the stucture!

Lighting and new roof for the engineering shed

 

Abandoned mine tramway reinstated

The abandoned charcoal burning kiln goes back home

Some views of the new building layout for Cuspidor Yard

I think this is a pretty reasonable arrangement of the structures I have to hand and an improvement over the previous one. Lots more to do.

 

 First Official Video (mercifully short!)

Some cheeky "under the covers shots!!!!

My woodworking skills on show to the world.

Here are a couple of rare views of the nether regions of Cuspidor.  Note the inspired carpentry that props up mountains! Gasp at the intricate engineering that supports the turntable. Marvel at the network of electrical connections. Some things just ain't made to be seen, but here we are - Cuspidor, warts and all for your delight!

The turntable, yes it works!

Points and turntable switch panel - the candid view...

More superb joinery and inspired wiring.

Trains run again in Cuspidor

Movement on the railroad at last

Trains are actually running on the Cuspidor and Southern under power from my new fangled digital control unit. I shall upload video content now that I've got to grips with a better way to upload video files. Watch this space.

Anyhow the railroad finally works and the DCC control is much better than I expected. Even better, no track wiring or re-wiring was required, thank goodness. (There's a lot to be said for a simple system!)  Money well spent and a perfect Christmas present from me to me (not forgetting from the boss to me either)! Now if only she wanted another Blackstone loco for her main pressie...... No, that would be pushing the old envelope too far even for me. I may be forced to buy her something non-railroad related just to keep her on side!

I've got the newer, bigger points switch panel installed (see below) and rewired after much cussing and happy time spent on the floor under the layout and it's working properly, although one of the brand new switch machines decided to pack up after half a dozen goes. Luckily I had a spare on hand. Can't beat good old electronics made in the glorious people's prison of China.......

The massive control panel is needed to accommodate all four switch machines and the turntable direction changeover switch. The panel to the right fronts the power source for the switches, it has a stupidly tiny led to indicate when it is charged and ready to be used so I fabricated this panel with a little green see-through slot which amplifies the light amazingly well.

Turn, Turn, Turn!

The big news concerns the Cuspidor yard turntable. It is now wired to the track via a DPDT switch and is working nicely, so trains can turn around and run in both directions, as and when required.  I fitted two Campbell's water barrels to the deck which cunningly double as fire safety and handles for rotating the TT. It will be an armstrong TT for the conceivable future. 

I was going to install a couple of pushing handles for my HO staff to use when I get too tired. Then I thought "What if I find some suitably arcane materials in my engineering treasures drawer? I may even be able to fabricate a loco-steam drive to save their tiny aching backs". If ever there was a benign railroad magnate, I reckon I qualify. Well, needless to say, I managed to cobble up what looks to me like an astonishingly convincing piece of apparatus, complete with connecting hose so that some pressure from somewhere on the loco can be used to power it and rotate the turntable. Job done!

The ingenious use of fire barrels to act as turning handles and the new "Barrymatic" steam powered turntable er, turner....

Upgraded Loco Maintainance Shop

In between times, I have installed lighting and a new roof on the loco repair shed and that will soon put in an appearance on the turntable lead. Head of Engineering Clyde McTwitter still cusses the day the turntable was installed on the shed siding so turning locos have to run through his engineering works just to turn around but sadly it uses the only space that was available to the company and he just has to lump it!

Note the new roof being clamped while it is being glued in position. I may patent this genius construction method. If Colorado was in the hurricane zone I might be tempted to leave it as it is!

Testing the new lighting

Hmm there may be some light leaks to attend to

Future Operation issues

Now that we are up and running better than ever before and I have a couple of potential operators in AJ and Bella, I need to work out where auto uncoupling would be helpful. I just ordered some Neodymium magnets to make my own Kadee type uncouplers and will no doubt spend much happy time sorting that all out. The prospect of excavating several bits of track fills me with dread but it will be a necessary evil. I have some off-layout testing to do first though, just to make sure they work.

From the bottom of my treasure chest, arrrr!!

 Time to add another loco to the roster.

Several years ago I purchased a Roundhouse kit for a two-truck shay. I opened the box, looked inside and hastily put it away.  After a while I had another look and thank goodness with some foresight (not one of my usual traits), I bought the NSWL upgrade kits for the drive train.

Yesterday I pulled out the box and took a deep breath. Quick as a flash I realised that I only had the original 5 pole motor. Blast! Tonight, though I bagged a new old-stock Sagami can motor for £25 on Ebay and it's on its way. That should help with the drive train issues, although I still expect it to be a bit of work to get it up to snuff and eventually fitted with a decoder. That will happen in time as I'm now waiting for my new dcc controller to arrive and provide hours of fun trying to make head or tail of that.

I've started fettling the components and have undercoated the metal chassis and boiler and next up is the cab and bunker and assorted other bits. That's for tomorrow. 

Here is a couple of pics of the work so far and to do.....................

I've also just purchased a dpdt switch so I can energise the turntable in two directions. That should lessen the number of derailments in Cuspidor yard and am about to embark upon a major illumination onslaught to brighten those long winter evenings that the residents dread so much. 

To that end, I bought a large bag of smallish, low power LEDs and will be installing them progressively in or outside as many buildings as I can. I intend to have a selection of lighting scenarios so that the whole valley doesn't just explode into light when I throw a switch. I look forward to making lots of very small tinfoil lampshades and getting my fingers superglued together. Happy Days!

Late Autumn 2025 Progress at last!

Trackwork gets a much needed overhaul.

After yet another summer away from the loft, I'm back in the harness again. I've been working to properly electrify the depot sidings and upgrade the switches.  Switch machines and controls are being installed to facilitate something akin to proper operation. I'll be very glad when I've finished as I loathe trackwork more than anything on the layout! 

I was waiting on a new capacitance discharge unit, which arrived today, so will hopefully have the switch machines live tomorrow. Then the fun can commence. The  turntable needs to be wired up but will not be motorized in the short term.

I put some simple ground cover over the bare boards and look forward to some proper modelling to follow.

Turntable end

Depot area

Mining district

Some new rolling stock arrives

Two much need stock cars.

I bought these on Ebay from a chap who is downsizing his layout, nicely made and decorated and they were a bargain. The beautifully finished piece of wood is my coupling alignment fixture and short test track. I've also started to finish all my unfinished rolling stock ready for proper operations.

Isabella Mining Co HQ. The story so far...

Having completed the gallery of the Isabella mine for my young friend, she decided she needed a full scale operation in Cuspidor and wanted to build a structure of her own too. I found some plastic wall components in my scrapbox that were marketed years ago by Roundhouse MDC. I believe they were probably made in Turkey and imported to the US, (you can see the Arabic inscription over the doorway in the shot below). They are beautifully moulded and I bought up a whole load of them some time ago and have used them in several structures since.  I managed to forget to take pics all during the build but here are a few and the nearly finished article, almost ready to go on the layout.

The basic shell, Bella helped me assemble it and painted it herself.

The fireplace which will eventually receive an amber flickering bulb.

Fireplace awaiting grate and fire and a window.

The structure is complete with interior which Bella helped on and the yard develops.

Let there be light!!

Bella is seated at her desk beavering away, no doubt.

You can see the fire in the grate here, it flickers away most realistically, pity it will be quite hard to see when installed.

Some photos with the roof off

Real progress at last!

I've spent a couple of weeks tearing out what's left of my hair trying to fit crummy British made backscenes and have now, finally, managed it. It isn't perfect but it is going to have to do. If  only you could buy backscenes over here wider than 3 feet and taller than 15 inches...........

At least now I can start the proper work of ballasting and land forming so that I can resume the interesting part of the hobby.  The new, connected trackage is now tested and working pretty well, just need to get a switch for the turntable and then that can go in followed by installing and wiring the switch machines. Here are some pics of where we are now.

New trackage and backscene for Cuspidor depot -some progress!

Laying and wiring track has to be absolutely the worst job on the railroad and I loathe it. However I am making progress and can't wait to get it finished. Work under the baseboard is trying right now as my knee continues to collapse. Had it scanned yesterday and we'll see the consultant on Friday this week for the glad tidings. Here are some progress shots. The backscene is on its way after a couple of expensive false starts. It will be nice to get that sorted. This is where I'm at today 5th Feb 2025. Right now I think I need one more switch and motor to complete the trackwork. Next job is to join up track where I can and do the wiring including under baseboard switch machines. I also need to carve and repaint the tunnel portal that I had to destroy to relay the track in there.