Taking Stock

Current stock as at 30 Dec 2011

Last few days I have fine tuned the shunting process and hence made it some what more prototypical. Initially the yard tracks were left empty, now I have wagons on the yard tracks which could be left there for some time, just like the prototype.

Point Activation using Dowels and Eye Screws

The last two days time was spent working on activating the points which lead to the departure tracks using the dowel method shown to me by another VR modeler. The procedure requires 6mm dowel from Bunnings, piano wire about 1mm thick, some eye screws - get the bronze ones if your layout is outdoors like in a shed/garage, and your basic tools such as power drill, drill bits, wire cutter, and junior saw / hack saw. See attached photos on how I did this. The major benefits are that it is very cheap compared to a servo or tortoise machine and it works really well. Not shown in the photos are the steps where I drilled a 1mm hole into the dowel then aligned the point and threaded the piano wire through the point and dowel. This was the most difficult part.

Bye now.

Something for the NSWGR modeller

Here we see a former NSWGR 421 class demoted to shunting duties at Acacia Ridge, Brisbane. She definitely sounds like a Victorian Railways S Class diesel loco. Cheers

Video of former Victorian Railways X Class Locomotive

I was delighted to photograph a former Victorian Railways X Class which was part of a consist assigned to head a Melbourne bound freighter on Saturday 05 November. I was extremely lucky to get some footage and just to see a X class leading through the viewfinder brought back vivid flash backs to my younger years photographing. Hope you enjoy the footage.

UTP Panels Deployed

Installation of two UTP Panels on the layout. One is at the Locomotive Depot, and the other new installation is at one end of the yard. This gives me the required flexibility to walk round as needed. The picture shows the new UTP panel installed at the yard.

The below photo shows a B Class heading to the "pit", after dropping her load at the yard, however in this case, the clear signal is yet to be established.

Two locos at the "pit"

Shunting continues

One of the side benefits of a shunting layout is the interesting consists that can randomly occur during shunting. Here is a photo of Y164 with three ZLP Guards Vans which will be shunted back onto the departure tracks. Something like this is not seen often on layouts. The other photo displays the three departure tracks where loading is set back on to.

Layout Operation Changes

Made a major operational change to the layout. Layout is now purely a shunting one, hence the layout does not have a station and goods shed. This has enabled two arrival and two departure tracks with the body of the yard used for classification and marshaling of wagons into new trains. The departure stub-ended tracks are situated at the left "wing", with the arrival tracks in the body of the yard. The right wing is used for staging.

A major Engine Depot resides on the opposite side of the yard where locos are sent after uncoupling from the train. The engine depot is used for refueling and servicing.

Wagons on incoming freight trains are picked up by the local Y Class shunter and are marshalled into three classification roads. One road is for North Bound destinations (e.g. Bendigo and Swan Hill), another for North East (Seymour and beyond), and finally one for Western Destinations (Ballarat, Mildura and beyond).

All wagon destinations are pre-defined according to an "arrival sheet". These have been made up randomly and this randomness adds immensely to the interest of shunting, e.g on one Arrival, Arrival #1, VLX wagons are to be shunted onto the road for western traffic, I wagons, for the North eastern road. Arrival #2 may have I wagons for northern destinations. Not all wagons will be on any particular arrival. Examples below. Once a train has been made up of enough wagons, the train is shunted back into one of the departure sidings after a guards van is coupled on. A loco is called from the depot, hooks up, and then does the brakes. After a while, when the road is clear and made, the train is ready to leave. The major attraction to this is its simplicity and its enduring interest shunting.

This concept follows that of the huge yard in Melbourne which was Tottenham Yard, with the engine depot being Dynon.

Intention is to build some factory style buildings to place near the main road and to achieve a city like atmosphere.

No passenger trains are going to be modeled, saving further space given their general longer profiles.