More books - it's too cold to lay track...

More books for February reading - and both useful as I hone in on what I can realistically achieve...

 Shelf layouts came about because of reading I think in Railway Modeller magazine about shelf layouts.   Given that I have a lawn in the middle to keep safe and the flowerbeds etc around it work with, then seemed to sum up my situation.   As one might expect, very American and perhaps 20% not directly relevent as it is concerned with shelves around a room, but lots of layout and conceptual ideas.  I'd come close to thinking that I needed some sort of fiddle yard concept.  One of the most radical is the harbour  float, which I don't think we would see in Europe alhtough i have been on the Train ferry from the Italian mainland to Sicily.  

   A book written by a real railwayman aimed at the modeller which  he also is.    Still working my way thorough this one but full of assorted miscellany.  How wagon turntables work and capstans - both of which there are remains of on the Exeter Quay trackway.   Pictures of horses used in shunting by British rail from the Mid 1950's if not a little later.  

Moving Forward and Looking back no2: Size and Cardboard Locomotives

January also appears to mean that he manufacturers announce what they are intending to release in the coming year, some of which will have been seen "in the plastic" so to speak at the Nuremberg toy fair.  There are also announcements about what will be discontinued.   Because of the cost I've bought very little new from shops (aside from the digital starter as I needed electrics that would work and could be relied upon) - which caused a bit of thinking about did I want to get anything that might be disappearing.

One of the problems I have though is visualising exactly how big some things are going to be and how they will look on my proposed track, which is going to feature Radius 1 and 2 curves, with some radius 3 (which many people regard as the minimum) curves a luxury in some places.  Since I'm running around the lawn as well, then it is what I gather could best be described as a "shelf layout" in HO/OO parlance, and I have a book of shelf layouts coming.

This is where the Cardboard locomotives come in.  Earlier posts have seen the Taurus and Railbus, but on the saving up agenda was a bigger diesel.  Researching sounds for the 0-4-0 shunters I have, had caused me to discover speed limitations on smaller things, so I make mock up of an 0-6-0's and 0-4-4-0.  Once of the pre Christmas Ebay bargains was a Bachmann big haulier coach as well.  

(Starting at the front we have 0-4-0, basic 30mm goods wagon, 0-6-0 Corpet Louvet, Cardboard 0-6-0, Cardboard 0-4-4-0, Cardboard Saxon steam 0-4-4-0, Big coach, and Taurus at 71.5 cm).  

One of the other things on the "shopping list" was a tender locomotive but the basic LGB 0-4-0 + tender, always looks like the modified Stainz that it is in any photos.  Previous posts have mentioned the Nicki Frank S (with video of real train) but with second hand prices of £400 upwards for unchipped versions then it was an unlikely purchase.  Amongst this years LGB releases though is an MTS (sound as well I think) equipped black version of the 0-6-0 plus motorised tender: I think RRP for this is around £800+ so looks even more unlikely.  I am in short, discovering that one pays for LGB build quality.  In January I'd been looking at what I had though, and when I get track down in the garden its going to be reasonably short of space: too much stuff already.  I'd also started to kick around ideas of platform lengths

The Bachmann coach was an Ebay bargain and potentially its future life is to be converted into my grande dining car with table lamps etc as putting people into the Austrian dining car showed up some of its limitations.   I knew a full size (500mm+) was going to be big but its not until you hand them that its size becomes really apparent.   Photos that follow are putting it on radius 1 (600mm r) curves.  

  

An Insignificant step for Mankind, Big Step for Chris

Yesterday I undid (as in unscrewed) my second LGB locomotive since starting.  (The first remains in bits whilst I ponder what to do, as the contemplated respray is not proving as easy as I thought - but I bought that one specifically to undo and learned much).

This time it was what is turning out to be one of my favourite locomotives, not least because it gets pulled out whenever I want to do something or test other purchases - it being digital, with sound, and no apparently fragile parts.   It was bought second hand off Ebay and I realised soon after purchase that the front light had become dislodged and was shining inside the bonnet.

So, last night after owning it for perhaps 6 months it was out with the screwdriver, undo a couple of screws and move the bonnet off.   The exploded diagrams available via the link from Gartenbahn Database proved invaluable.  Also discovered that the cab light was in the wrong place, stopping the bonnet going back exactly right by a few mm, but enough to mean that the roof wasn't flat.  So, sorted that well.   Still a long way from ripping the insides out etc, but it did my confidence good (when it worked after reassembly).

Front light now working in the correct place !

Looking forwards and backwards... but I can have everything out at once

OK, so no posts for a while.  Real life and all that a bit and I've diverted into reading magazines and books.  I look forward to the Garden railways magazine from the States which is only bi-monthly, less so to the UK's Garden Rail which often a substantial element of live steam about it which is not of much interest to me.  Christmas time bought even more though with a couple of issues of Narrow Guage world that had lots of eye candy pictures and articles to interest me.  And this is all topped off by the traditional smaller scale model railway magazines  such as Continental Modeller (UK) and Model Railroader (US), all of which have had lots in recent weeks to interest me.

More on these in subsequent blogs as I cover what I'm being inspired to do.  

I've also been doing a bit of a stock take as the purchasing habit was getting out of hand and it was time to consider what was I actually doing.  I'd bought a couple of things via Ebay that were cheap, that whilst fitting in with mythical Iscatalbahn land, may not have been the most sensible.  For example the mountainous rural existence, that produces timber, sheep/cows, cheese, beer and I was thinking I could have a quarry with quality marble as well.  So, when a couple of stock wagons come up I make a realtively low bid and end up with them.  It's not that I don't want them, but are 450mm+ long wagons the best thing in my limited space garden ? Likewise, a Sion Kolsch (Cologne Beer) reefer came up at a very reasonable price second hand from one of the dealers, and I've got a soft spot for Cologne and its beer but again it's another long reefer.  Have I bought too much rolling stock, too many locomotives, because they were cheap ?  I could probably get away with much less, although each item has its own charm and place in my vision and I certainly don't think I've paid over the odds for anything or got any bad bargains, although my understanding of 'bargain' is much better.

Pictures of the locomotive and wagon mountain... (which looks unsightly because unboxed stuff is cheaper on ebay and secondhand, but lacking a shed to store it in on shelves, then I'm scrounging what boxes I can).

Wagons and coaches

Locomotives

But I have also come across some real life videos that would support having my mixed bag of stuff all out together at the same time..

The following I assume is Marklin taking real life examples of what they make to an open day somewhere.