Recent updates

To get rid of a brown out caused by a dodgy point i've added a wire "bypass" for the point, i've also started using logs to cover up electric cables and other unnatural breaks in the scenery. Hopefully the layout won't end up looking like a hurricane has hit it with bits of wood all over the place!

Falcon will be withdrawn at the end of the year when a new coach for the Jam Sandwich arrives. One of the Zillertalbahn coaches will also be withdrawn (the non-push pull one) to make space for it. Falcon and the coach will be cleaned and then put in storage for 6-9 months when they will return and some other stock will take their turn have a rest. 

I'm thinking now of getting another engine early next year, probably one of the new Liliput shunters but until then everything is running fine!

Soldering on

Why build a model railway? I'm sure many have asked modellers this over the years, of course one reason is that it allows you to explore many different skills including wood working, painting, planning and basic electrics. The latter can involve use of the soldering iron which is something i used a fair bit in the past when i did the odd bit of electronics but not for the last 20 years or so.

Until now, the power clips i was using were just a total fail so i decided to solder the wires onto a piece of track. Not the easiest task in the world trying to hold a soldering iron (and not a tiny one at that), solder, a wire and a piece of track with just 2 hands available! We got there in the end though, i managed to only melt a couple of sleepers! It was all worth it as the train runs great.