Ox Mountain Railway

[trammayo]

Did a tiny bit of work on the trestles - the three strips of treated wood were placed in position and nailed. I used the electric nail gun as it was smaller than using a battery drill and screws (shrubs and vegitation in the way) ......



You might also notice a different material in the bottom left of the above pic. It's a strip of plastic rainwater pipe left over from capping the top of the new hayshed doors. I did mix some paint to match the shade of the treated wood. Although I nailed the plastic on, I think it might be better screwed into position. That will not be today - raining nearly all day I think! Also, the top timber on the left needs some remedial action!

 

[trammayo]

I keep doing odd little bits of work on the trestles .....


The horizontal timbers are now all in place on the section that replaced the bridge.


This is how I get to drill holes in tight, shrub lined, spaces - a right-angled drive with its' own chuck. The solar light is now past its' sell-by date too! Maybe the solar panel can be rescued?

Also, work continues in the trailer preparing for the next show. This Aristo loco had a lttle problem ......


....... and now fixed with superglue for the time being. I was going to drill the offending break and insert a fine steel pin (cut to length) to strengthen the joint) but didn't! If it breaks again that is what I will do!



The dips and bends in the above pics are purely due to my (lack of) photographic skills!

 

[dunnyrail]

Quite often those solar things have used steel based for the internal wiring. Guess what it rusts outside, what a surprise for so called garden lights. But at the usual prices sometimes as cheap as .99p Imguess that is all we can expect. Still worth opening up, the bottom bit tends to be push in so a gentle attack with a small screwdriver should prize the thing open. Sometimes the battery is shot sometimes an unsoldered wire so you may be lucky. Repaired one at my friends house yesterday, a wire had come off the board.

 

[Degauss]

Quite often those solar things have used steel based for the internal wiring. Guess what it rusts outside, what a surprise for so called garden lights. But at the usual prices sometimes as cheap as .99p Imguess that is all we can expect. Still worth opening up, the bottom bit tends to be push in so a gentle attack with a small screwdriver should prize the thing open. Sometimes the battery is shot sometimes an unsoldered wire so you may be lucky. Repaired one at my friends house yesterday, a wire had come off the board.

The leads on the led are cheap iron wire and rust quite well. If you get a replacement, paint the inside electrics with nail varnish (or equivalent). insulates from moisture. If battery is in a holder, not soldered wires, put a dab of solder on all the contacts, these rust as well.

 

[Paul M]

The leads on the led are cheap iron wire and rust quite well. If you get a replacement, paint the inside electrics with nail varnish (or equivalent). insulates from moisture. If battery is in a holder, not soldered wires, put a dab of solder on all the contacts, these rust as well.

I've never had any that have asked for more than a couple of years

 

[dunnyrail]

I've never had any that have asked for more than a couple of years

Sounds about right. Sometimes you get them with aaa batteries, a replacement NiMh rechargeable of this can with luck bring life back. Though a bigger sized Mwh can take longer to charge with the limited circuitry but last longer.

 

[Chris Vernell]

I've never had any that have lasted for more than a couple of years

Yup. But I buy mine from the dollar store, so what can I expect? The solar panels seem to film over as well; I've tried cleaning a couple, but no joy.

 

[trammayo]

It's the short arms and deep pockets syndrome that I suffer from!

Well, I got the track cleaned and tested a loco (the one above in Post 1302). A little erratic in picking up power, so it's consigned to the shed awaiting my attention. Tested another train and the there was no problem with conductivety.

So, here's how I do things (just a few pics!) when the big box is confined to the barn ......


After 14 years, I finally got round to making something that would stop the Jockey wheel swivelling when parked up without the handbrake on! The trailer is effectively a single axle type and is easy to move with the handbrake off. If I have it in the drive, I chock the wheels but, in the hay shed I don't bother!

The other essential piece of equipment is the wooden crate made from recycled wood. I made it so I could stand on it to bray fence posts in but, in this case, I use it to reach into either end of the trailer to try and reach parts of the layout than cannot be reached from the inside .....

You can just see a paint bucket lid that used to rest the jockey wheel on to stop it sinking in the turf debris!

Next is my cleaning tool ........

Yes, its a hand sander with a wet wipe ........

Dead cheap (joy of joys!) and effective both for track and loco wheels .......

The offending Aristo loco - a cat food pouch box supports most of my locos!

And, the results of the first bit of track cleaning ......


More pics and explanations to follow (when I get a minute - or two!).

 

[trammayo]

Continuation .......

So, to get to the track that cannot be easily reached from the inside, I have to open the shutters ......



The back-end and back side shutters will only open so far because the goat's stable and hay loft are in the way. Still, I stilll get in to do things!

Looking down the length of the trailer's offside, it does look long! ......


Now a look inside (train/track testing time!) ......

Camera (or operator) on the wrong setting!

A little bit better ......


and just some general pics from yesterday ......













And all's packed away. I just use a couple of bungees and some baler twine to keep the stuff packed at the side in position. Battery charger has been left in in case I need to charge up the other two batteries.

 

[Paul M]

It must be a great thing to see in action, I've never seen a layout set-up like that. Usually show railways are just set on trestles

 

[playmofire]

It's the world in a box! So much great layout in so small a space.

 

[trammayo]

So I took a few pictures yesterday before I carried out some weeding duties ......









...... and after!




I may (the emphasis is on the word may!) run a train today if the dampness changes to dryness! Meanwhile, I've got to order a load of LPG. I'm bracing myself for the invoice (that's if they deliver!).

 

[trammayo]

So you are looking for something like these? Three complete ones (though two have over-paint) and one with one fixing broken (and over-painted). All are plastic . . .

View attachment 298164


. . . and (if Jimmy can't find his) while I'm going through the "bits box" how about these off some dismembered Bachmann coaches? (both plastic) . . .

View attachment 298165

All available gratis. Not sure how easy postage to Ireland is these days, but I'm sure we can sort something out. Start a conversation if you are interested.

Best wishes

DavId

I would just like to say thank you to David for sending me the brake wheels and hand rails gratis to me! After I've finished my current little sort out, I'll get on with the coach job and post a pic or two of the results!

Thank you once again David - and also thank you to JimmyB for his kind offer.

 

[trammayo]

So after testing the loco in the trailer (more on that in a minute), I turned my attention to the coach. I used an empty ball pen ink tube to provide a couple of pieces to fit the upturned wheel bosses and then mounted them on the spindles. A droplet of superglue secured things. The old broken handrail was difficult to extract as it left the flanges stuck in the coach. Anyway, once they were out of way (three little bits drifting inside the coach), Mr Super Glue, kindly helped with the fitting of the new one. Apart from maybe painting things to match the new balcony railings, and fitting safety chains - although Mr Bach Mann didn't - I'm as happy as a pig in the proverbial!

 

[trammayo]

Now for the loco! As pictured in post 1301, it seemed OK when I tested it in the garden. However, at the the last show, it started playing up. It had to be withdrawn from service until I gave it a good dose of looking at today. Nothing wrong with motor, the motion, or the drive (worm & wheel), or even the electrical pick-ups, so I put it back together and placed it on the garden line.

If there had to be a race between the loco and a snail, the latter would have beat it. I didn't scratch my head because I didn't want splinters in my fingers! Anyway, I picked it up and looked underneath again. Then it dawned on me! Everything had happened since I switched the smoke unit on - was there a short in that? Whatever, I turned it off, put in back on the track and away it galloped - yes it would have won the Pontefract races!

 

[trammayo]

Galloping round the garden weed bed ......


and enjoying the same in the trailer (and earning its' keep!) ......

So, a switch in time saves mine!

Back to weeding now (and some topiary work) - in the garden of course!

 

[ge_rik]

Just catching up on this thread. Reassuring to see that weeds are just as rampant across the Irish Sea as they are here. The trailer layout seems to be surviving well. How old is it now?

Rik

 

[trammayo]

Hi Rik - first built in the spring of 2008, then lengthened in 2013 and a new roof fitted (Aluminium over ply instead of just ply!) to make life easier

As for weeds - bane of my life! They seem to multiply faster than jobs that need doing. I pulled out one Dandelion and was amazed at its' length (not including the root);-


...... and, of course, it's spawned yet more of it's genre!

So, now I have to control the shrubbery by manicuring overgrowth and the like, plus the stream needs new gravel (it's amazing how nature makes its' own soil to nurture the unwanted!).


The stream after I pulled out the unwanteds.

 

[dunnyrail]

Hi Rik - first built in the spring of 2008, then lengthened in 2013 and a new roof fitted (Aluminium over ply instead of just ply!) to make life easier

As for weeds - bane of my life! They seem to multiply faster than jobs that need doing. I pulled out one Dandelion and was amazed at its' length (not including the root);-

View attachment 299112View attachment 299113
...... and, of course, it's spawned yet more of it's genre!

So, now I have to control the shrubbery by manicuring overgrowth and the like, plus the stream needs new gravel (it's amazing how nature makes its' own soil to nurture the unwanted!).

View attachment 299114
The stream after I pulled out the unwanteds.

Trick with dandelions is to pull out as much of them just as they are flowering. You cannot let this go. Then they work hard again to flower cos they want to reproduce. Keep doing the same thing and they get so tired that they give up. I have eradicated almost all dandies from 2 lawns in 2 houses this way. Any new ones you get are likely to be seeds that have arrived naturally through birds or on the wind.

 

[JimmyB]

Dandilions, the wed I hate most in my garden, I have one of those weed removers, that take a lump of soil with the tap root, the more root you get the less likely the return, however when entrenched in concrete, then its weed killer, and sod the repercussions