This weekend will be finalized with a workshop “soldering for dummies”. The aim is to be able to construct a dutch wagon on a proper way and to overcome the fear of brass kit soldering. Now on my way to the location in Leeuwarden with some railway mates. The workshop is organized by Werps Modelbouw.
I wasn’t entirely satisfied with the sector plate locking, in fact I created it on the wrong side of the track. This became very clear to me when I was playing the big shunting puzzle. Now it’s working fine, the lever with springs is not only locking the position but it also connects one of the current to the tracks. In that way there y is only movement when it’s in it position. The layout in now technical working, the scenery is something for later this year. I’ll switch to my other project to start where I left it some months ago. Yesterday received the invitation for the autumn exhibition, i would really like to come up with something and exiting.
When it comes to couplers for engines and rail cars I used to look for my stock of kadee couplers. To be honest, kadee couplings look a bit awkward on a Dutch locomotive. It’s to big and looks like a street car in stead of a train. So I tried to apply a model chain/screw coupling and equipped the rail cars with proper sprung buffers. The only challenge is that they stay connected and do not get buffer-locked.
I did a little test, here is a short video (pulling) and another (pushing) to show you how it looks. Although the quality is not HD, it clear to me, No More Kadee for me.
For some time no blog from me, other DYI duties have taken all of my hobby time. That’s all finished now, so here I’m with the latest status on the Handelskade Oost “Shunting in a box” diorama.
At the above picture it shows that I have completed the sector plate, with 4 tracks to store some wagons. All switches are operated by Tortoise Switching motors, I use a Nokia phone adapter which provides me just 3,7 Volts to do the switching. Due to the low voltage, it runs very slow.
Despite my rigid selection of dutch engines at this era for this diorama, I did come up with a fire less steam engine from Liliput (L102971). It was a longtime wish for me to deploy such an engine. The next challenge is how to depict the right setting for this engine, a private siding perhaps? Just wait and see…
Despite more than one month no blog from me, I did do some work here. During these cold days I often grab my soldering iron and try to think of which kit I still need to finish. Last summer holidays I somewhat finished for 85% three vegetable cars, an Amstel Beer car and one for fresh bananas from the Fyffes company (nowadays Chiquita). For the vegetable cars I’m waiting for the axles bearings, but I brushed the roof anyway, always impatience.
Currently I’m working in parallel, the Dutch Lumber Mine Yard diorama and Handelskade Oost. The other project, Dutch Mine Lumber Yard, needed some track. I started to lay down the narrow gauge track, which is PECO’s code 100. A complicated switch area (three switches and a crossing) put some delay on this, but this switch issue is almost finished as well. I had to take out the piece and finish it on my workbench. Next update will show some of this work. Hopefully I’m able to finish the rail cars for the 1:87 Handelskade Oost project in february, so I can start with the scenery, which still is my favorite topic. Will have to see if I’m able to run these projects in parallel, there is actual no need for this – there is no hard delivery date or likewise – but I would like to own three ready-to-run/exhibit dioramas.
Today I established the base board of the mentioned diorama. It’s only 1,2 m by 0,6 m, excluded the fiddle yard of course. The base board height is approx. 15 centimeter, the switch motors I intend to use should fit nicely. I’m also adding something to this regular blog and that’s a compilation of the progression. Therefore I have set up my workbench in a way that I should be able to take a picture based on the same position so that a somewhat smooth transition should be possible.
Like this … keep you updated!
After finishing my five lumber lorries and presented a locomotive driver for the Schoma diesel, I took the inevitable step to do a sketch of the future diorama – track plan and placement of the buildings. As the above picture shows, it’s a combination of narrow gauge (16,5 mm) and standard gauge (45 mm) based on the scale 1:32.
The diorama has five vanishing points, two of them go directly to the fiddle yard, the other three just disappear between buildings or trees. I even managed to write down some scenario’s for the various operation possibilities. The main focus should be on the transfer of lumber from a coal wagon at the yard and transport to the sawmill by means of the narrow gauge traction.
This sketch is based upon DSM’s lumber yard at a former mine called “de Maurits” located in the south of the Netherlands / Lutterade. Of course, this is not a replica, but the logistics, buildings and factories were present at the time that this mine was in operation, previous century until mid sixties when it was closed down.
Scenario of operation – #1 – carrying long lumber from yard into the sawmill to have it cut into smaller pieces for pit props. These pit props should be impregnated and afterwards stored on the yard.
Scenario of operation -#2 – collecting sawed lumber and offer them to the impregnation factory.
Scenario of operation -#3 – collecting impregnated lumber and store it at the yard.
Scenario of operation -#4 – transfer pit props to the lorries and transport it to the mine shaft.
Scenario of operation -#5- get some fuel!
Checking my ground rules for diorama score = excellent 
Running the Schöma diesel engine just by itself gets boring after a while. I decided to build from scratch a lorry like the ones they used to deploy at the DSM for the mine lumber. There were more versions running on that narrow gauge network, i picked the ones that carried lumber of a length of 2 meters.
A gift in the form of a small gas burner turned out to be the perfect tool for this, the brass is to thick for my solder machine of 25 Watt. The wheels are 12 mm diameter from Gibson, the inner part is plastic, so easy to drill the extra holes. There are three more to come, but I’m out of brass this moment…next weekend an exhibition in Rijswijk with S.P. Oorgidee, I might do some shopping too.
It’s the gift season, so i treated myself on a delicious sound system for diesels called OSSYNTHS. This superb system is bringing the final dimension to my diorama’s, real sound! And i don’t mean those simulators with little speakers and an almost screaming and shrill sound, but nice warm beats like a diesel motor should bring. The trick is to use loco sound in combination with a sub woofer.
This system is ideal for my narrow gauge aspirations, small diesels that are carrying goods with lot’s of noise. Beside the loco sound, also wagon sounds can be mixed.
On 24 and 25 September 2011 the narrow gauge model railway event 2011 took place at the dutch smalspoormuseum. I was invited to show my S.P.Oorgidee layout. This layout is particularly well suited for this event due to the fact that it´s narrow gauge (Scale 1:22,5 on 16,5 mm track) and the rolling stock is a copy of the HaWe electro cars and lorries well known to the dutch greenhouse owners.
It was a very nice event, indoors was the model railway event with more than 20 layouts – national as well as international contributors, outdoors the visitors (and some of us) could experience the 1:1 museum material. As a bonus, i was invited to get on board of a HaWe electro car and drive around the areas for quite some time – it was a great experience, although the comfort was really terrible 
