What have you done today ?

[Chuffer]

Not sure if I made the right decision or not . I had planned to take a trip over to the British Motor Museum at Gaydon in the C3 to attend the Footman James ` Coffee & Chrome ` event . Went last year and had a great time with about 500 cars on show . I kept watching the constantly changing weather forecast over the last few days but the prospect of gale force winds and thundery showers put me off in the end . Being an ex WW2 Bomber base , Gaydon can be a bit exposed at the best of times !! So I decided to go and play in the big toy box instead and crack on with all the work we need to catch up on the steam locos . Having lost a full six months of work on Sir Lamiel due to a miniscule amount of old asbestos containing materials being found that caused such blind panic with the` powers that be ` you would think the world was coming to an end ! Bureaucracy and red tape took over and the entire loco was encased in a massive scaffolding structure and hermetically sealed in a plastic tent . That was finally dismantled on Saturday so it seemed a good plan to get up to the workshops and crack on again . At least our small but dedicated team have continued to work on our other project locomotive Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 Number 45305 that stands along side Sir Lamiel as well as the tatty body work on the Class 33 Diesel loco D6535 . 45305 is a boiler off job too as its certificate has expired but apart from some general maintenance the rest of the loco is in good order . That makes all three steam locos we look after sans boilers at present . A bit like having all your beloved Corvette collection fail their MOT`s at the same time ! And guess what ? The wind blew , but no rain or thunder storms . Maybe should have took the Vette out after all . Ho Hum !!

 

[mickn]

Well I had a run out in my C7, along the front at Stokes Bay, in very windy but mainly sunny conditions. As I came round the bend to start the run along the front a very shiny black C5 (I think) emerged from the car park, the strange thing is last week I saw a blue C5 in virtually the same spot, neither car I know or have seen locally before. Bloody common these Corvettes

 

[Chuffer]

Time to change your car for something else maybe ???
I have just got back this afternoon from a frustrating few hours at the workshop trying to disconnect the speedo drive from the TH350 trans on the C3 . Access is very tight with the exhaust and the transmission support bracket in the way and the car at only axle stand height doesn`t help . Just cannot get the knurled collar to budge at all . After much cursing and back and shoulders aching I gave up . Must be getting too old for all this stuff !!

 

[antijam]

I feel your pain Chuffer. I've spent an uncomfortable day attempting to remove the central instrument cluster on the '71 to replace a duff oil pressure gauge and a duff ammeter. I've had the panel out a couple of times before. This seems to be one of those jobs that gets harder the more you repeat it rather than easier. Try again tomorrow - at least this time I've remembered to isolate the battery first. Not doing that last time is the reason I have a duff ammeter.....
I've a feeling I was too old for this stuff several years ago......

 

[Nassau65]

The removal of the centre console is a mother of a job. I only did it once in the late eighties I think to replace a non working clock.

 

[Chuffer]

I feel your pain Chuffer. I've spent an uncomfortable day attempting to remove the central instrument cluster on the '71 to replace a duff oil pressure gauge and a duff ammeter. I've had the panel out a couple of times before. This seems to be one of those jobs that gets harder the more you repeat it rather than easier. Try again tomorrow - at least this time I've remembered to isolate the battery first. Not doing that last time is the reason I have a duff ammeter.....
I've a feeling I was too old for this stuff several years ago......

At least I am not alone in my suffering which almost makes me feel a whole lot better .

 

[Emc]

Put a whole new interior in a 81

 

[CaptainK]

Finally got around to fixing the last of the old locomotives in my train collection. Unlike Chuffers, mine are only 76th of the size of real ones (OO Gauge). Had a few childhood locos that I've been restoring for use on my loft layout I'm slowly building. The last one for me to fix back to running condition was a steam loco that was having minor motor issues, but more importantly a dodgy wheelset that kept diagonally moving the connecting bars linking the wheels together. So one wheel would want to go forward, another backward etc and it'd all jam up. Took ages to get it sorted right, but now it runs really well. Quite surprised.

Technically I still need to tweak the new LED lights I installed in my old Intercity HST, but the motor runs well now, and the forward direction LEDs come on, but the red rear lights won't work because the silly LED boards keep dying. So I can't be bothered buying new ones again. I mean that HST only originally had forward light bulbs anyway, so I'm not worried.

And Chuffer - if you recall ages back in our chats, I had a small pannier that wouldn't do anything except make "electronic burning smells" and little bits of smoke? Well, that's fixed as well. Granted its not that great and doesn't run fast, but it didn't cost me anything except time and patience. For nostalgia reasons its just nice to see it doing something. It mostly sits in the turntable area and moves a few things around on the rare occasion.

 

[Chuffer]

Good to hear you have finally got back to working on your layout Captain . I know just what you mean about a "dodgy wheelset" . If you strip a model loco down and either get the motor worm and pinion drive out of sinc on the driven axle , or one driving wheel axle a gnats whisker out of turn , the coupling rods bind up on the crank pins and they will only turn a bit one way and then a bit back the other way . Very annoying !! But at least with 00 gauge you can pick it up and start over again . Had the same problem years ago working on a much larger scale whilst working on the full strip down and rebuild of Gresley A4 Pacific ` Union of South Africa ` . A gang of has lowered the 100 ton beast down onto the 3 pairs of 6ft 8 ins diameter wheel sets and were struggling to slide the massive couple rods into the crank pin bearings , only to find we had the wheel sets out of sinc so it would have been one chuff forwards and one chuff back and a big bang to boot !!! Much swearing and start all over again .
I do recall your burning out on your Pannier Tank and it`s great you got it running again . I have a Bachmann Pannier Tank on my layout that like all modern models runs a real treat and I super detailed it some time ago and heavily `weathered` it to work stained and grimy like I remember them in the early 1960`s .
During all this wet weather on days I can`t get on with much else I have been doing bits on the 4mm scale railway . Been trying my hand at white metal kits for the first time by building a 1950`s period Bedford Cattle Lorry to go with my cattle dock in the Goods Yard . It`s very fiddly as so much `over spill ` on all the castings need carefully trimming and filing off to fit properly . Also just completed detailing and lightly weathering a 1950`s era Albion petrol tanker bought off Ebay and turned it into a Shell tanker to go with the layouts garage. It keeps me out of mischief until I get back to the 1 inch to the Foot scale locos on Friday .

 

[Chuffer]

Good to hear you have finally got back to working on your layout Captain . I know just what you mean about a "dodgy wheelset" . If you strip a model loco down and either get the motor worm and pinion drive out of sinc on the driven axle , or one driving wheel axle a gnats whisker out of turn , the coupling rods bind up on the crank pins and they will only turn a bit one way and then a bit back the other way . Very annoying !! But at least with 00 gauge you can pick it up and start over again . Had the same problem years ago working on a much larger scale whilst working on the full strip down and rebuild of Gresley A4 Pacific ` Union of South Africa ` . A gang of has lowered the 100 ton beast down onto the 3 pairs of 6ft 8 ins diameter wheel sets and were struggling to slide the massive couple rods into the crank pin bearings , only to find we had the wheel sets out of sinc so it would have been one chuff forwards and one chuff back and a big bang to boot !!! Much swearing and start all over again .
I do recall your burning out on your Pannier Tank and it`s great you got it running again . I have a Bachmann Pannier Tank on my layout that like all modern models runs a real treat and I super detailed it some time ago and heavily `weathered` it to work stained and grimy like I remember them in the early 1960`s .
During all this wet weather on days I can`t get on with much else I have been doing bits on the 4mm scale railway . Been trying my hand at white metal kits for the first time by building a 1950`s period Bedford Cattle Lorry to go with my cattle dock in the Goods Yard . It`s very fiddly as so much `over spill ` on all the castings need carefully trimming and filing off to fit properly . Also just completed detailing and lightly weathering a 1950`s era Albion petrol tanker bought off Ebay and turned it into a Shell tanker to go with the layouts garage. It keeps me out of mischief until I get back to the 1 inch to the Foot scale locos on Friday . View attachment 25887View attachment 25888View attachment 25890View attachment 25891View attachment 25892View attachment 25893

Meant to say 12 inches to the foot scale on Friday which is just a tad bigger than 1 :76 ( 4mm to 1 foot ) .

 

[CaptainK]

Good to hear you have finally got back to working on your layout Captain .

I've been working on the layout for a while now - do bits here and there when I get time. Took a while to design my track layout, but the track is now all down and electrically fine etc. Doesn't sound much, but its a big loft and I'm using the whole length. I might tweak it for sidings later, but for now I'm happy with it. I'm going to be building a fiddle yard under the main baseboard, and have constructed a ramp going down to it.

Now I've got all the locos working, which took me a while, I'm now moving onto scenery and making it look better. So things like static grass, scatter, ballasting, creating fields, towns, roads, airfield, ship docks, improve the stations and tweak the bridges and high-up tracks where they go over each other, backdrop pictures, etc etc. A lot more to do, but at the moment the whole railway is functional (bar fiddle yard).

 

[antijam]

Finally got my '71 central instrument cluster removed (yet again!) ......



...and the two duff instruments removed.......


I'm going to lie down in a darkened room for a few days before attempting the replacement
My garage is a little restricting on access space and while there was just enough room to remove the panel it's going to be much easier to refit it with the car outside. I need a couple of days of fine weather - come on spring, what are you waiting for?

 

[Nassau65]

It’s supposed to be good weather for the next few days. Get your skates on

 

[Chuffer]

Finally got my '71 central instrument cluster removed (yet again!) ......

View attachment 25899

...and the two duff instruments removed.......

View attachment 25898
I'm going to lie down in a darkened room for a few days before attempting the replacement
My garage is a little restricting on access space and while there was just enough room to remove the panel it's going to be much easier to refit it with the car outside. I need a couple of days of fine weather - come on spring, what are you waiting for?

Good luck with all that , looks a bit of a nightmare to me .

 

[Nassau65]

Only did it once about 35+ years ago from memory. Still have nightmares about it

 

[Mad4slalom]

Finally got around to fixing the last of the old locomotives in my train collection. Unlike Chuffers, mine are only 76th of the size of real ones (OO Gauge). Had a few childhood locos that I've been restoring for use on my loft layout I'm slowly building. The last one for me to fix back to running condition was a steam loco that was having minor motor issues, but more importantly a dodgy wheelset that kept diagonally moving the connecting bars linking the wheels together. So one wheel would want to go forward, another backward etc and it'd all jam up. Took ages to get it sorted right, but now it runs really well. Quite surprised.

Technically I still need to tweak the new LED lights I installed in my old Intercity HST, but the motor runs well now, and the forward direction LEDs come on, but the red rear lights won't work because the silly LED boards keep dying. So I can't be bothered buying new ones again. I mean that HST only originally had forward light bulbs anyway, so I'm not worried.

And Chuffer - if you recall ages back in our chats, I had a small pannier that wouldn't do anything except make "electronic burning smells" and little bits of smoke? Well, that's fixed as well. Granted its not that great and doesn't run fast, but it didn't cost me anything except time and patience. For nostalgia reasons its just nice to see it doing something. It mostly sits in the turntable area and moves a few things around on the rare occasion.

Reminds me of the old Yellow Pages adverts back in the 70’s/80’s some on here may remember,……… “ good morning , I am looking for an “RB 211 Signal box, would you have one ? …. You Do !!

 

[CaptainK]

Reminds me of the old Yellow Pages adverts back in the 70’s/80’s some on here may remember,……… “ good morning , I am looking for an “RB 211 Signal box, would you have one ? …. You Do !!

Cripes. Now you mention it, I do remember that one actually.

 

[Mad4slalom]

Cripes. Now you mention it, I do remember that one actually.

Or the fishing book by J R Hartley

 

[antijam]

For your trips down memory lane.........

 

[Chuffer]

My oh my , you have jogged some memories . Those vast tomes were all we could turn to in the those pre internet days !!!