I'm too easily distracted.

I'm currently on a spot of annual leave from work, so along with the responsibilities of the school run, I have been reliably informed of tasks around the house the require attention, this tends to stifle creativity on and around Victoria Street.

The shell of 821 still resides on blocks at the moment with the chassis hiding in the in the back of the shed, as there is no real hurry to introduce another W class to the roster.

However I have phaffed about with other (non Melbourne) distractions.

Like fitting this powered bogie from a Bachmann San Francisco cable car to this little open platform tram. (Still DC at the moment)

This one of the many static models courtesy of the Atlas release that have inundated the European market and are eagerly motorised by the model tramway community.

We need a bigger tram

Another side project is this obscure steeple cab shunter which was made by Lima. While this does not have any relevance in MMTB operations in history, this will become a per way loco that will be part of the tram depot/museum that is Westside.

A drop in ride height along with new paint, decals and some trolley poles.

A while ago I obtained two Bluerail decoders that operate on the Bluetooth frequency from an app on your smartphone or tablet. One was installed in SW6 870 and after a few teething issues (dirty wheels/track) operates quite well, the spare unit has been fitted into a translucent zippy box with a socket and four LEDs as an ad hock DC controller.

Trying to make it look tidy.

Also it plugs into the 'standard' D.C. Controller socket on Victoria Street.

The red led shows power in, the green led highlights track power going out, and the lower blue LEDs indicate direction. Both the red and green LEDs are fed by rectifying diodes regardless of the power or the polarity. The translucent lid allows the status green led on the Bluerail board to be observed.

This now allows me to operate wirelessly all my DC rollingstock* that I haven't or won't convert to DCC. 

* only one at a time!

Looking and doing everything else under the wires except finishing off 821.

Regards Glenn.

Service interuptions and some analogue running

It has been a month since Caulfield and I have done nothing since then, the layout has sat in the study as I left it when I came home on that Sunday night. The last weekend I started the getting 'the band back together', all that was needed, was a flick through of the October AMRM  to realise that I still have some work to do.

As part of the reinstatement of Victoria Street, the DC option has now been fully integrated, this now allows one tram at a time to be test ran to see if it should be fitted with DCC, and also gives those other pieces of rollingstock in my collection a chance to stretch their legs.

Since the conversion to DCC some two years ago, some trams and some new purchases have not the opportunity to get out of the display case and 'cut a notch'. Thus now introducing a rogues gallery of ring ins of my DC fleet......

 

A Walters Birney done up as MMTB X 217 with arse about doors

on a Tyco/Mantua Chassis.

 

A Tyco/Mantua tarted up as MMTB U 205

(Pretty much a dead ringer)

  

 

But wait, there's more waiting to become something else...

(and they all work!)

 

A Cooee Collectable Restaurant Tram with A Bachmann Brill Mechanism,

(this has a lot of potential with DCC/lights)

 

 

A Kochi 600 Hasagawa 1-80 kit with a Bachmann Brill Mechanism,

(The panto is pushing the body down at the No1 end,

another DCC candidate)

 

A Kato Hanover/Hiroshima Tram,

(Now this is a well built model)

 

 

A Double Truck Birney (Ken Kidder???)

This will need some work as it runs the old school

pick up from one side of one bogie, pick up from the other

side/ bogie, and it runs like a dog!

 

 

A Muni Boeing LRV by Mehano, this could have potential for DCC/Lights,

but could do with a better mechanism.

 

 

This is the RTR DC stock that has been waiting to have a crack, there are also some other projects/kits on the back burner waiting for their chance.

 

From under the wires and the smell of ozone of the rarely turned motor.

 

Regards Glenn.