A place for everything, and everything in its place.

Finally, I am happy with the study, I am sure that the bride is happy with the study. For two and half days, there was the tear out, the clean up, the obtaining of the shelves, the building and then the fit out.

Here is the overall look.

Clean white lines.

Let's have a look at some of the features.

Glass fronted cabinet, with LED lighting for larger models,

bits and pieces, periodicals and reference books and photos.

 

The tool cupboard, for modelling materials, long forgotten kits,

basically the old desk clutter, plus the spare computer monitor.

 

The integrated workbench, with computer/internet,

printers, more storage and flexible LED task lighting.

 

An under the counter holster for the powercab.

 

Box framed display cases for short bodied

models,(most are still waiting for DCC!).

 

The flexible task lights come into their own during

the evening, (the take away boxes on the right

 contain all the cars/trucks that need to be installed).

 

The trams are obviously providing transport during

a crippling fuel crisis resulting in the lack of cars.

 

Sitting back and marvelling at his handy work,

 

Regards Glenn

 

 



 

 

 



 



A change is as good as a holiday.(Housekeeping)

There are some times, where you look at your current situation and say this isn't good enough, then there are some times when one needs a gentle shove in the right direction. The man cave/study is a prime example, two kids, five and under, together with a 'study' that has the OH&S of a Dickensian factory, that will put the domestic authorities offside, so far that in the fact that it may offend inlaws and other visitors, now requires attention.

Victoria Street, started off as a test track built on one of those wall suspended Ikea shelves. It evolved, then extended, plus adapted, and slowly converted to DCC. The biggest issue was the storage of reference/modelling material, especially for 'works in progress'.

 

The 'study' on a good day, (yeah right!)

 

 

So when an article appeared in, Australian Model Railway Magazine/ blogspot Dec 13 about utilising flat pack self assemble storage.  A eureka moment! Therefore, after a little of bit of show and tell later with the bride, the seed had been planted for a study refit.

 

 

  A work in progress.
(note the hi vis and the beer, it's all safety first!)

The blank canvas.........
more to come.

Stay tuned, from under some wires?

 

Regards Glenn.

  

 



Time flies by.....

Well, it seems that Christmas is now upon us, so I decided to get in early, and as per usual I have wasted a bit of time, resources and cash on creating this years Christmas card. so enjoy.

 

The Christmas tree is created from one Noch 20 odd foot conifer, some 'hundred and thousands' for baubles, a little frayed golden/silver gift ribbon for tinsel applied with PVA glue, then plonked behind the signal box at Victoria Street.

 

So, all the best for the season, stay safe, avoid family dramas, and remember it is all about the kids.

 

From under the wires and the plastic pine needles,

 

Regards Glenn

 

 

In the Pink (Now for something different) and a visitor.

As I wade through my fleet of trams and attempt to retrofit DCC and lights, I am also a Dad to a pair of girls, one pushing five and the other nudging three. Needless to say my life is surrounded by most things pink*.

The oldest has been haggling me about a 'tram' for her for a while, and it should be pink! This got me thinking...

• one slightly ordinary Mehano trolley.
• one of those plastic static German trams that seem to come attached to a card.
• one NCE D13SRJ decoder.
• one pantograph (found in the bits box)
• a couple of LEDs and resistors.
• and some phaffing around.

This loose collection of missed matched items are in the process of being cobbled together to create this, a cheap, durable tram that works and meets the design brief as stipulated (demanded!).

2312 (the pink tram) a work in progress
at the corner of Victoria St and Epsom Rd

 

Now for the cunning part, this tram has been tinkered with as so to allow trials in the operation of live overhead on DCC (pretty clever eh?)  The other thing is, with the plug in decoder, I can 'borrow' it if the need arises.

 

Also the oldest is in the process of birthday season, so a new member was added to the family, Sparky. A rather cheeky hand friendly budgie (parakeet).

 

 



Sparky poses on the Victoria St crossing square.

(so far he has not manage to 'deposit' any traffic hazards)

 

On the computer front, my brother in law, Mick ( a hoarder of technology) had in his collection of 'assets' had a spare computer monitor gathering dust, better in my study than eventually on the hard rubbish. Thanks Mick.

 

From under the wires and a couple of little thumbs and a few feathers.

 

Glenn

 

*Disney Princesses, the house of mouse has lot to answer for.







 



More lights and a moment of darkness.

Yes, I do know it has been a while, and I do believe that I am now settling in with the new gig so therefore I may have developed some sort of routine that allows some more modelling.

Back to Victoria Street, the fleet is now in the process of undergoing an update, I have purchased some 3mm warm white LEDs for directional headlights, and now I am in the business of retro fitting them, also, while individual trams are on the workbench, interior lights and fibre optic marker lights are being installed where required.

So far X1 460 is now running the new LEDs and now has interior lighting, all controlled by the NCE Z14SR DCC decoder.

X1 460 at twilight.

  

SW6 870 has also recently undergone a refit, with headlights, saloon lights and the original (1970's) layout of marker lights (white, red, white) either side of the headlight. With the left over function of the decoder, one cab end can be lit up as if the desto box lid has been left open. This open desto lid provides better illumination for the trailing cab at night time, as the red marker lights don't seem bright enough for half cut drivers to realise that there maybe a tram ahead! As per prototype, the drivers cab bulkheads are painted white. This tram still runs the 'trusty and rusty' Bachmann 'pancake' mechanism.

 

The magic (madness) inside

SW6 870 now in service with lights and the correct doors.

The trailing cabs at night, (870) with and (812) without the rear desto box lit.

 

Now for the dark side, the vintage laptop that I use for the JMRI decoder pro has decided to extinguish its backlight for the screen, thus throwing a decent sized spanner into the works, until I can get a second hand monitor, I will have to struggle along by attempting to shine a desk lamp off the screen and try to decipher the text like some demented Egyptologist reading hieroglyphs in a tomb. (there will be no chance of using the 'good' laptop in the study after sharing a 'fatal' beer with the last one, by order the minister of war and finance!)

 

So from under the wires and squinting at the screen,

 

Glenn

 



 



Football Season (The Grand Final)

As intrinsic as trams are in Melbourne, football (Australian Rules) also plays a major role in the life and fabric of the city. From a home grown urban domestic competition, now has evolved into a national obsession.
This game has a cradle to grave legacy on families, it decides the planning of social/family occasions, and usually comes with the typical Melbourne greeting of "What's ya name?, and who do you follow in the footy?"

At one stage, with eleven competing clubs in inner urban Melbourne and the other from regional Geelong, most, if not all original home grounds were serviced by nearby tram routes at one stage, as with time the completion expanded, some clubs (South Melbourne, Fitzroy) relocated to Sydney and Brisbane, other franchises were started in Adelaide and Perth, then western Sydney and the Gold Coast.

Suburban grounds while they still exist in the hearts and memories of the tribal enclaves of the city, games are now played at either the iconic MCG and/or Docklands(insert sponsor's name here) Stadium at staggered times to suit the needs of the prime time television god, a long way from six games on a Saturday afternoon broadcast on competing AM stations.

The tramways must of had some real fun and games trying to co-ordinate extra services to and from these games all starting and finishing at roughly the same times, so here is my homage to those blokes who punched services, cut notches and punched tickets.

 

A typical Saturday afternoon in Melbourne,

A Football special short shunting on Victoria St.



 



So to the competing clubs today, Hawthorn, 5km east of Melbourne, entered the competition in 1925 and won their first flag in 1961 (against Footscray*, darn it! ) now going for their 11th flag, versus Fremantle, so far west from Melbourne that they face the Indian Ocean, entered the caper in 1994 going for their first. (*I am not a fan of Hawthorn)

From in front of the tele, and under the wires.

Glenn

Street Life

A couple of weeks ago the crew from Sunshine Model Railway Club had their August exhibition, and for the first time in three years I was not exhibiting Victoria Street, so this gave me plenty of opportunity to have a good look around the trader stands and have a rummage through their boxes of obscure modelling items.

I am always on the lookout for people to fill out the street scenes of the layout, as trams tend to run through an urban environment and people are an active component to the operations of trams be it 4mm to the foot or 1:1 scale.

Another thing is that streets are full of other features, and needless to say I was stoked to find scale parking meters, ideal for the inner urban scene, and the soon to be scourge of my local traders and residents.

The other aspect are the parking bays and road markings that go along with the street scene, on many layouts at exhibitions I have seen a perfectly ballasted and weathered railway blighted by an attempt to 'model' a road by a dark grey strip of paint divided with an equally harsh attempt of hand painting a centre line, some may have even tried to mask the road before painting the lines, only for it to bleed under the tape.

The method I use on Victoria Street is the glue and paper strip technique, it gives sharp lines and a tidy finish, the paper I use is bog standard office paper cut into strips 1.5 mm wide and trimmed to length glued into place with PVA glue on the bitumen road surface of my choice, 400 grit wet and dry sand paper. It works for me.

(It is also easier than painting road markings, especially when you have already hung the trolley wire!)

So here are a couple of happy snaps with the slightly better digital SLR.

 

 

Evening twilight on Victoria St, now with metered parking



Looking for change for the meters, from under the wires.

Glenn