- G scale news from around New Zealand - February 2008scaping retaining wall blocks and back filled...

- G scale news from around New Zealand -

February 2008

Train entering the yard on the Linden Railway. Congratulations to Fiona Russell, whose Yard Masters Office has just

won her top prize in a national scratch building competition. See inside for more details. Photo: John Robinson.

Corner brac-

ing from the

off cuts were

glued under-

neath the

floor to pro-

vide strength

and stability.

The roof has

not been

glued onto

the building,

to enable

easy access

to the inte-

r i o r , so

trusses from

B a s s w o o d

were made to provide rigidity and

ensure the roof fits securely when replaced. In-

terior lighting can be added later if I am moti-

vated enough.

Exterior:-

Weatherboard is Precision Products ‘Plastic

Veneer’ sheets cut to size with windows and

the doorway cut out.

Plastic 5mm x 5mm corner angles were used to

“finish off” the exterior corners.

Windows, porch brackets and door frame are

various Basswood lengths cut to size with thin

4mm Basswood lumber strips to complete the

window frames.

(These strips help to cover up the little mis-

takes when cutting out for the windows)

The corrugated iron roof is also Plastic Veneer

and was spray painted in red acrylic with wa-

tered down orange acrylic brushed on later for

a weathered effect.

The door is made from Basswood and over

painted with a fairly dry brush to give a timber

effect.

A cheap earring (not mine) was trimmed down

to make the “brass” doorknob.

The interior and exterior of the building was

The Garden Whistle - February 2008

Coupler Competition

First Prize Award

- Fiona Russell -

The Yard Masters Office was made using Pre-

cision Products ‘ Perfect Panels’ for the walls,

floor and roof so no framing was needed.

Perfect Panel sheets are 400mm x 400mm x

5mm. They are easy to draw a pattern onto and

cut with a craft knife.

During the

last year “The

Coupler”

magazine ran

a structure

building com-

petition;

Nine months

to build a

model of a

Yard Masters

Office from

plans sup-

plied, in the

scale of your

choice.

A good num-

ber of entries

were received ranging from NZ120 to G scale,

and Fiona Russell from Wellington was an-

nounced as the winner.

The accompanying article and photos ap-

peared in the December issue and are re-

printed here thanks to “The Coupler”, and

Fiona Russell.

The details inside are visible through the window.

and the cold tap was a lucky find among some

Piko bits and pieces.

(Stainless steel sink is in the process of being

built)

Cupboard doors were glued on after painting

(otherwise it all becomes a complete mess) and

the door handles are heads of shirt pins cut to

size.

The stove is made from Basswood, sanded to

give rounded corners and painted black.

6mm brass pipe was used for the chimney, also

painted black, and extends under the floor for a

smoker unit to be added later. (His department,

not mine).


painted with an acrylic

spray paint while the

white windows and door

frame were brush

painted later.

Telephone box is Bass-

wood and the bells are

just the ends of 2 ordi-

nary pencils cut off,

sanded and painted

black.

The “concrete” step at

the door is just Bass-

wood with a mottled

paint effect.

Interior:-

‘Tongue and Groove’ flooring is Plastic Ve-

neer brush painted with acrylic and a second

coat put on the partially dry floor to create the

worn effect.

Skirting boards are Basswood strips glued and

carefully painted. If I was clever, I would have

painted the skirting boards before I glued them

in!

The bench unit is Basswood sheet cut to size

with Basswood 12.5mm angle strips glued to-

gether and sanded to make the “bull nose”

bench top.

The sink is tin foil glued under the sink cut-out

The yard masters office sits close to Fiona’s other building, the Linden Station. Photo by John Robinson.

Inside the building, you can even see the nails in the floor boards.

had up to 4 trains running, all in the same di-

rection, and yes there are a couple of incident

reports being filed.

Brian will be doing a bit of a talk about the

Navigator at the up coming mini-convention,

but he might not show us again how to repro-

gram 6 loco’s all at the same time with address

08, opps!

A neat thing with the Navigator is the little

icon pictures and names you can assign to each

chipped loco (just don’t try and do it while

running trains folks). Once that was sorted a

signalman was appointed and we started run-

ning in opposing direction putting the recently


Above: Engine shed at the far end.

Left: Buildings fill the town scene.

By John Robinson

2008 has started of in fine fashion here with

another visit to the fine Linden Railway of

Brian & Fiona Russell. Not a bad turnout on a

day somewhat overcast but pleasant enough for

running trains and having a chat.

The railway is DCC powered and Brian now

has one of those flash Massoth Navigator cord-

less hand pieces coupled into the back of an

MTSIII unit. A few guys got to have a play

with it when we could prize it out of Lexie’s

hand, it is comfortable to hold I agree. So

along with some MTS corded hand pieces we

Above: Brian and David resort to the

instruction sheet to get it working.

Left: Overall view of the railway.

January Running in Wellington

By Raynor Johnston

Thanks to all from the Waikato who came. We

had a great session helping BenRachel get on

track.

We now have a complete loop and had the first

paying traffic! A sensible scale! A Stainz loco

with revenue passenger cars and the bucolic

"express-o-loo" live steam mobile WC facility

from the steam guru Andy Whyman. Thanks

Andy.

I had no idea we would get it linked up but

with everyone contributing it was a special

moment to see both trains circuiting without

mishap. This has encouraged me to look to

complete the outer loop soonest.

Raynor J

Supernumary Vice President

(normally in hiding) of BenRachel Railway


BenRachel Update

Opposing trains cross under DCC control

G Scale Mini Convention Update

15 & 16 March 2008

Tawa, Wellington.

reconfigure yard layout to test. That got the

grey matter working, a lot of fun indeed.

On show where the fine scratch built station

building and yard master’s office made by

Fiona, the later having just won her first prize

in a competition run by the NZAMRC.

You can find some more pictures on the fine G

Scale Mad website here http://www.

g s c a l em a d . c o . u k / f o r um / i n d e x . p h p ?

showtopic=11273

All in all a good day ending with a sausie or

two, thanks Brian & Fiona.

Although it has only been promoted in

NZ, we have already attracted bookings

from overseas.

So far we have one Australian travelling

over for the weekend (and giving a

clinic), plus two visiting Canadians who

just happen to be in the country.

You should have already received a copy

of the info sheet and registration form

from your club co-ordinator. If not, you

can get one direct from Ian Galbraith:

Email: [email protected]

It’s going to be another great weekend.

Don’t miss out!

diesels with long

trains. And they look

great as they snake

around the layout.

The track has been

laid on wooden beams

fastened to posts

about 300mm above

the original ground

level.

The area was then

boarded with land-

scaping retaining wall

blocks and back filled

with dirt to raise the

ground level up to the

track height.

Points are a mixture

of LGB medium ra-

dius and USA Trains long radius. All are elec-

trified. It is clear that a great deal of thought

has gone into the design. There is a siding at

one end which runs into the garage for setting

up trains. At the other, clever use of a 90deg

diamond crossing has been made which will

eventually lead to a bigger yard down the side

of the house. Another turnout (already in-

stalled) will turn the future yard into a triangle

allowing trains to be dispatched in either direc-

tion around the railway.

Some gaps have been

incorporated into the

design to allow for

bridges to be added

later. A water feature

is planned for the

back corner, and will

look very nice with

the twin bridges

crossing it.

The ‘rivers’ have

been lined with attrac-

tive schist rocks

which were left over

from a building site

Andrew was working

on.

Two tunnels are


Andrew’s New Railway

Eventual plans are to have water flowing from the top of the rock mountain.

The Christchurch club meeting was hosted by

Andrew Hamers at his brand new railway.

There was a good turnout, with over 20 mem-

bers coming along. There were also a few visi-

tors, including Bob Parlette all the way from

the USA.

Andrew has been building the railway over the

last year. The best way of describing the track

plan is a large U shape. The curves are gener-

ously large, and the track has virtually no

grades. This allows Andrew to run his modern

Some of the club members relaxing and enjoying the sunny afternoon .


planned, the first of which has

already been started. The tunnel

portals are to his own design

(high enough for double stack

container wagons to fit through)

and have relief details. Andrew

has made his own mould and

cleverly cast them in one piece.

There is still plenty to do, the

dirt only went in the day before

we visited. More will be needed

for the tunnels, and it will be al-

lowed to settle before plants are

added.

The railway is shaping up to be

a stunner and we look forward to

visiting again in the future.

Thanks to Andrew and Bindy

for their hospitality.

Some more photos can be found

o n l i n e a t : h t t p : / /www .

gscalemad.co.uk/forum/index.

php?showtopic=11425&hl=

Our February meeting is in

Hokitika, spread over two days.

On Saturday we will be running

on members track set up at the

Hokitika Heritage Park. There

will also be other models and

layouts on display.

On Sunday we will be at Jim

Staton’s recently extended gar-

den railway.

If you want more details, contact

Glen Anthony or Jim Staton.

Andrew’s train snakes around the end of the railway past the garage siding.

Don’s Crocodile on the curved bridge over the future water pond.

Diesel exhaust smoke wafts from Rob’s loco as is runs through the yard. Andrew’s single pour concrete portal.

By Wayne Haste

This started life as a Bachmann Observation

car, so the first job was to remove the interior

and start with a new floor to build a workshop

scene.

I reinstated the WC cubical, and then sorted

through my junk box for suitable parts that

would silhouette for machinery.


Maintenance Car

Most of the windows from the original carriage have been blanked out, and a new (working) sliding door added.

Dolls house furniture the right (or close) scale

made up the stove, workbench, the draw cabi-

net and after a little work were fitted in place.

Item no 92411 track tools from Bachmann

were also placed about.

Bachmann figure sorting timber


The saw horses, long ladder, step ladder, and

the safe I made up.

Car body: I started by cutting the hole for

the sliding door in the side, then boarded up a

selection of windows and fitted a chimney.

A view of the complete interior.

Top inset: scratch built ladder

and saw horse

The white food safe on the end platform was scratch built

most common. And let’s take it one problem at

a time:

- Brass tarnishes, this is not alarming in itself, since the black type of brass oxide has a

fairly good conductivity Trains will run quite

well on slightly blackened rails. Polishing the

rails to a shiny, bright glow is folly and we

don’t really want that brassy glow anyways. If

the sandpaper used is too course, the rails will

receive microscopic scratch marks, this means,

more dirt can adhere more easily.

- A greenish discoloration spells trouble. It is usually oxidization under the influence of

sulfur and acids. Maybe your neighbor’s cat is

using your tunnel as a sandbox. Rinse the track

well with soapy water, before doing anything

else. Use a wire brush, and rinse it again.

- Live plants growing over the rails cause trouble. Do not make it a habit of running over

them and assume that your heavy engine will

teach them a lesson. By the way, this goes for

ants as well! The juices squeezed out by the

wheels will be carried allover your layout, and

when they dry, they form a film of sticky, sug-

ary substance. That will stop any train running

on track power.

- Oil on the track!? The effect is much like the one above. Watch out for over oiling the

bearings of rolling stock. Live steamers are bad

news. Get rid of oily films as soon as possible.

- Dust is everywhere. If your rails already have a sticky film, dust will feel right at home.

There is practically no such thing as conduc-

tive dust. Plastic wheels are claimed to carry

dust more readily than metal wheels, this may

make a difference, but the difference is small.

The bottom line is: We must get rid of dust!

- Arcing. Did you ever watch your loco running at night and observe this little bit of

fireworks right at the wheel-rail contact? It’s

bad news! A clean metal to metal rolling or

wiping contact does not arc! But if there are

minor non conducting particles in the way,


Building a Track Cleaning Wagon

In September 2006 Werner & Ingrid Grund-

mann (from Vancouver Island, Canada) made

a brief visit to NZ. Escorted by Ian and Ann

Galbraith, the visited some garden railways as

part of the tour. Werner has supplied these

thoughts on track cleaning.

By Werner Grundmann.

Track-cleaning is a subject, all of us Garden

Railroaders can never put out of our mind

completely.

A multitude of equipment is readily available

on the market, from the fancy and expensive

rotary machine made by LGB to the various

drag-along items. Many of those I see adver-

tised in the garden Railroad Magazines. I trust

they all work pretty well, but they also have

one thing in common, they cost money up

front and again to maintain. And we all know,

it is not always easy to get our hand on them.

My wife and I were just recently visiting the

North Island under Ian and Ann’s very friendly

and capable guidance. We have had a chance

to meet with a great number of you, who are

deeply into Garden Railroading. We were quite

impressed with the great reception we received

and the open enthusiasm for this hobby of

ours. During conversations, one subject came

up many times: how to keep the trains running

when you depend on track power and the track

tends to get dirty.

I talked with a few of you about my experi-

ences with track cleaning and I mentioned

some simple approaches to this problem,

which seem to work for me. I will repeat the

problems as I see them and I will then show a

solution, anyone can duplicate, at virtually no

cost and by investing no more than ½ hour of

work.

But first we must understand that the term

“dirty track” is a common denominator and has

many causes. Not all can be tackled using the

same approach. To start with, let’s limit our

discussion to Brass Track, it seems to be the


they can cause a momentary interruption in the

transmission of current. Because there are in-

ductors in our power circuit (the motor itself

and the transformer) a very short but very high

voltage surge is the result and what you see is

the current jumping the gap. Why worry about

it? Each of those little discharges creates an ex-

tremely high temperature within a very small

area. A small amount of metal will be melted

out of one surface and deposited as metal oxide

on the other. The micro pitting on one side har-

bors dirt, the deposit on the other is non con-

ductive. Both don’t help our cause. If you ig-

nore arcing, you may only do so for a short

while. Just wait, it will stop you dead! Because

we run on DC, on one side the rail gets pitted

and the wheel oxidized, on the other side the

reverse will take place. Sure you can change

direction, but now you have both problems on

both sides.

In summary: It’s a good idea to keep your

track clean and don’t wait until the lights

flicker or the trains stops. However, it takes

different approaches to the different causes, I

outlined above.

One last observation. On many days in the past

I have been running several trains all day long

and not a single pick-up problem has shown

up. When daylight fades, so do the trains. In

many places all at once they show signs of

poor power pick-up. Even the lights in the

coaches start to flicker. What is happening? As

near as I can figure, all those little particles

neatly tucked away in their microscopic little

recesses and firmly stuck to the car’s plastic

wheels, are being pulled out by the evening

moisture settling on the cooling track, turning

it all into a nasty non-conductive paste that will

eventually spread everywhere and stop every-

thing. This calls for a major clean up, involv-

ing both: track and wheels. Strangely enough a

light rain will not have the same effect at all.

The excess moisture gets the track and wheels

washed and rinsed as the trains run. The dirt

goes over the edge and out of play. No extra

cleaning is required!

Now for the cheap track cleaner.

We have just discussed the fact that not one

cleaner can fill all the above requirements. We

need at least two cleaning devises, but better

would be three. Fortunately they can be all

build the same way. And they can all be use at

the same time.

We finally come to the workbench activity. I

cut a total of six pieces of wood. (If you want

to be fancy, you may want to use metal for ex-

tra weight).

Three are a flat piece of plywood 80 mm by

120mm and about 6 to 7mm thick (1/4 inch)

They will serve as the cleaning pads. To make

it come along for the ride I glued and nailed

three small blocks 16mm high, 20 mm wide

and 51 mm long each onto the center of the

three plywood pads. I now have three identical

assemblies. Each is lined with an appropriated

cleaning pad.

1. The first is lined with a strong cloth, such as

Denim. In this case I glued it on with contact

cement. It is water-resistant and can be re-

moved and replaced when the time comes. The

job of the first pad is to remove loose dust,

when it is used dry, or to wash the track clean

of water-soluble substances when it is used wet

(i.e. plant and tree sap or flat ants).

2. The second receives a very fine sand paper,

Grid 300 or finer. The picture shows, it is held

in place by masking tape. This makes for quick

removal and replacement. The live time of the

sandpaper is relatively short and I always keep

a few pieces in reserve. It is important to

choose waterproof sandpaper! Otherwise you

may have a mess on your hands the first time

your track is wet…This pad will give it that

gentle swipe to remove oxides and grit that

sticks too well to be washed off.

3. The third pad I lined with raw leather, rough

side out. It acts as a general wipe with a high

degree of retention for all kinds of dust and de-

bris. Since this pad will last for a long time, I

stapled it to the wooden pad for some perma-

nency.

All three pads can and should be washed regu-

larly. The leather pad I give an occasional rub-

down with a wire brush or course sandpaper to

rough it up again. When I am facing a particu-


larly dirty track, such as after a heavy

rain, I run this cleaning pad ahead of the

first engine. With a strong enough engine

you may chose to place all three pads, one

under each of three cars, in one cleaning

train and get the job done in a hurry. I

place them in the 1 2 3 order for best re-

sults. The leather pad is also suitable as a

wet cleaner, by saturating it with the LGB

track cleaning /smoke oil.

The pictures show how simple the appli-

cation of the cleaning pads really is. Place

it on the track and place one of the LGB

Boxcars over it. The small block on top of

the pad will fit neatly into the recess of

the truss rods. The pad rides on the track

under its own weight and goes wherever

the car goes. It will never hang-up or de-

rail the car, even on switches (turn-outs,

points), as long as the pad is not torn.

Happy track cleaning.

Roses on the fence tie in with the name of the railway

Above left: The cleaning blocks, with the three

different pads attached.

Below: The cleaning pad under an LGB wagon.


150mm is considered generous. Therefore

the layouts can be quite small and easily

transportable.

Track plans for small layouts usually take

the form of either a continuous loop for

those who just want to let the train run, or an

‘operating’ type layouts where small turnta-

bles, sector plates, and traverses can be used

to enhance a shunting procedure.

A small size layout can make a good indoor

project for winter and allow a high level of

detailing without taking years to finish (but

what layout is ever really complete?).

And you can make use of people, cars and

Gn15

The Harvey Stewart engine at the tunnel entrance.

Paul Napier’s 1/24th scale model of the Georges Tunnel depot of the Waitakere Tramline near Auckland.

So what is Gn15?

In its simplest form it is G scale people and build-

ings, with HO track. Using a scale of 1:22,

16.5mm HO track scales out to prototype of 15”

gauge (hence the name Gn15). But the name has

also become an umbrella term encompassing

1:24scale, and railways of around 15” gauge.

Fifteen inch gauge railways were common in

Europe and Britain, primarily for industrial and

mining applications. In Britain 15” was made

popular in the 1800’s by Sir Arthur Heywood

who had an extensive line on his large estate.

In New Zealand the most prominent use of 15”

gauge is the Driving Creek Railway in the Coro-

mandel. It was built by Barry Brickell, originally

to transport clay and wood for his pottery, but the

train rides have become so popular that is now a

major tourist attraction.

A feature of narrow gauge railways is their tight

curves. And with Gn15, a radius larger than

Some of the loco fleet in the yard. All were scratch built.


small details already on hand for your G scale

garden railway.

More details on Gn15 can be found at www.

Gn15.info (and you will find more pictures of

the layouts featured here in the forum section).

Other ideas for small layouts can also be

adapted from Carl Arendt’s excellent Small

Layouts scrapbook: http://carendt.us

Layouts featured in the photos:

Waitakere Tramline. Paul Napier built this ex-

hibition layout which is a very close replica of

the Watercare Services maintenance depot in

the Waitakere Ranges, near Auckland. All the

buildings, engines and rolling stock have been

measured and 1/24th scale models scratch

built. The prototype is 2ft gauge, but Paul used

a narrower gauge on the model to be able to

utilise HO scale chassis. Layout size: 1m x 2m

Haywards Estate. Gavin Sowry used a play on

the Heywoods name of Sir Arthur Heywood

(who is famous with 15” gauge in Britain), and

Haywards, the name of the Wellington suburb

close to where he lives. The buildings were

scratch built and the rolling stock is modified

Gavin’s “Pizza ‘n’ Beer”.

Above and Right: Paul’s Cardboard Challenge

A natural ‘tree’ tunnel

Below and Right: Gavin’s

Haywards Estate.

The layout runs off a 9v

battery, and is seen below

set up on a picnic table in a

park.


Bachmann On30. Size: 600mm x 1.1m

Paul’s Cardboard Challenge. This small

‘pizza’ sized layout was built by Paul Napier

last year as part of an internet challenge to

build a layout using only cardboard construc-

tion. One side features a swamp, while the

other has a saw-millers hut. The bushman’s

jigger was scratch built. Size: 700mm dia.

Pizza ‘n’ Beer.

As the name

s u g g e s t s ,

Gavin Sowry

used an old

beer crate as

the basis for

this novelty

layout. Pizza

is a term used

to refer to

small layouts

(about the size

of a pizza).

The Stamping Ground. Glen Anthony built

this layout around a fictitious gold mine stamp-

ing battery. The stamping battery was origi-

nally going to be used on his outdoor garden

railway but he couldn’t work out how to make

it weather proof and still keep all the moving

parts working. It is not finished yet and there

are more moving parts to add to this scene.

He is finding having a small layout refresh-

ingly easy to transport, store, and quick to set

up. Size: 500mm x 1.2m

Glen’s “Stamping Ground” with full working

stamping battery and moving water wheel

NEW ZEALAND GARDEN RAILWAY TRACK Prices as at January 2008

· This is a new and improved profile rail which has a flat top for better contact and adhe-sion and is more flexible than the previous New Zealand rail.

· It is now available in a range of lengths. (NOTE; The 3.6 meter lengths only available for collection at our Glen Eden warehouse.)

· New and improved sleepers are now self spacing. · Deliveries to commence at the end of January. Forward orders are now being taken. · Freight and packing extra – Ask for quote.

SPECIAL OFFER WHILE STOCKS LAST: Old pattern sleepers – (These cannot be used with the new rail. Note also that the old rail cannot be used with the new sleepers) .33 cents per 2 sleepers.

CONTACT: Graeme Quayle, 47 Oreil Avenue, West Harbour, Waitakere City, 0618.

Phone/Fax (09) 416 7600 or Email: [email protected]

TRACK PRICES

.6 meter c/w sleepers and joiners $ 24.50 1.2 meter c/w sleepers and joiners $ 41.95 1.8 meter c/w sleepers and joiners $ 56.30 3.6 meter c/w sleepers and joiners $100.00

RAIL PRICES

Rail cut to 0.6, 1.2, 1.8 or 3.6 meter lengths at customers’ request - $12.20 per meter.


The Garden Whistle is compiled by the Christchurch Garden Railway Soc and features news from various

G scale clubs in New Zealand. Each club is a separate identity and the contact details can be found above.

Editor: Glen Anthony, 59 Colombo Street, Christchurch 8022. [email protected]

Auckland:

Sunday 24th February:

Derek & June Lane

10 Tiber Road, Forrest Hill

(09) 410-5926

2pm to 4pm. wet or fine.

15 & 16th March:

Wellington convention

Sunday 27th April:

John & Helen Stephenson

Remuera

Club Contact:

Auckland 45mm Gauge

Model Railway Group

C/- Michael Hilliar

22 Halver Road, Manurewa

Auckland 2102

Ph 09 266 4745

[email protected]

Waikato:

Friday 1st February:

John Mayne

Club Events and Contacts

Christchurch:

9 & 10th February:

Jim Staton,

Hokitika. See page 7 for details

Sunday 30th March:

Neill Wiggins.

Club Contact:

Christchurch Garden

Railway Society

P.O. Box 7145

Christchurch 8240

Chairman: Don Ellis

ph/fax 03 365-2267 wk

[email protected]

Other Events:

15 & 16th March:

Wellington G Scale Mini

Convention. Tawa.

See your club co-ordinator for an

information sheet and registration

form, or contact Ian Galbraith:

[email protected]

Friday 7th March:

Raynor Johnston,

147 Osborne Road,

Horsham Downs

Club Contact:

GROW: Garden Railway

Operators of Waikato!

Grant Alexander,

PO Box 1172, Cambridge.

Ph 078230059. [email protected]

Wellington:

Sunday 10th February:

Dan Hughes

Moorpork Railway

Wainuiomata Please phone John on 0274 427 160

for more details.

Club Contact: Wellington Garden Railway Group www.culcreuchfold.org.nz/wgrg.htm

C/- John Robinson

39 Taylor Terrace, Tawa

Wellington 5028

Ph 04 232 5175

[email protected]

John Lammiman’s triple header on Andrew’s railway

- G scale news from around New Zealand - February 2008scaping retaining wall blocks and back filled...

Documents

Transcript of - G scale news from around New Zealand - February 2008scaping retaining wall blocks and back filled...