Ending the 'Sounds of Silence' - Introducing 4449

To paraphrase Simon and Garfunkel, at Philip's Creek, "no one dared disturb the Sounds of Silence". At least that was the situation, until recently, when Auscision Models 4449 joined the locomotive roster.

When Auscision's pre-purchase offer for the 44 class was released quite a while ago, I hadn't anticipated purchasing one. However, the drive gear problems I was experiencing as I attempted to repair Trainorama 4473 ( There are gears and there are gears ) indicated that redundancy of 44 class locomotives may be prudent. And so an order for 4449 was placed in late June last year. My timing was good because it seemed that the pre-purchase offer closed off a few weeks later. I also elected to purchase a model fitted with a factory fitted ESU sound decoder.

It may come as a surprise to some but up till now, I had resisted the trend to install sound in my locomotives. There were three reasons for this; complexity, sound quality and cost. The complexity of fitting the speaker and additional wiring into small spaces has always concerned me and the sound I heard from many locomotives at various exhibitions seemed 'tinny'. Given these factors, I could never justify the extra outlay required for a sound decoder. Recently though at a NMRA event, I listened to a steam locomotive which appeared to be a substantial improvement in quality, suggesting to me that smaller speakers were improving. The complexity issue disappeared with the factory fitted option and cost difference seemed reasonable.

A few months ago, 4449 duly arrived and it is certainly a quality product but it was the range of sounds that made the biggest impact on me. I was particularly impressed by the start up and shut down sequences which I presume have been recorded from an actual 44 class. Will James did a comprehensive review of the model on his You Tube channel ( Will James' review of Auscision 44 Class ) including a demonstration of the sounds included on the decoder between 5:15 and 7:23 minutes on his video. As Will notes in his review, the pulling power of the locomotive is impressive. It easily hauls 12 coal or wheat hoppers plus brake van up my 2.5% helix.

Most of the photos of 44 class locomotives in the late 1960s seem to show a fairly exhaust blackened roof while the paint work on the front and sides was still in good condition albeit with variable amounts of grim. Hence,  this is the appearance I have sought to create in my weathering of the locomotive.

With 4449 now added to the locomotive roster, the obvious question is 'where to for sound on Philip's Creek?'. The short answer is that I'm not sure yet. Certainly any new locomotive will be purchased with a sound card and speaker fitted (if available) but as there is only one additional locomotive targeted at present, it is unlikely to make a significant impact on the noise level on the layout. 

The bigger question is whether to retrofit sound decoders to existing locomotives.  I may consider a commercial fitting service for some and for others, I may attempt myself when I can pluck up the courage while others with noisy mechanisms probably don't need extra sound.

Certainly, there is a steep leaning curve to over overcome and a lot of work before I completely "disturb the the Sound of Silence" at Philip's Creek.

Before I finish this post, just a short footnote on 4473. After several months of frustration, I replaced all six wheel sets with Trainorama replacements. This seems to be working very well and 4473 is back to its original performance. Hopefully, the problem will not reappear.

 

 

Putting a lid on it - 2 (The Challenge of Sandstone cuttings)

In my most recent post just before Christmas, I described the landscaping of the area above the helix. That work continues. I'm currently covering the area with static grass before a fairly ambitious reafforestation program which will be implemented progressively over the next few years.

The biggest challenge to date has been a realistic presentation of the sandstone cuttings. After several trips up and down the M1 cuttings south of the Hawkesbury River as well as looking across to the Cowan bank on Short North, I have tried to identify the key elements of a cut sandstone face, the horizontal sedimentary layers overlaid with vertical weathering from a combination of mud washed down from above combined with grime from exhaust fumes.

I have used several colours to differentiate the sedimentary layers. There was a fair bit of experimentation but I settled on two basic shades of yellow, a yellow ochre and light yellow applied horizontally. These were overlaid with several vertical washes of burnt umber to represent the weathering.

I'm comfortable with the ochre but just as I finished, Bevan Wall Productions put a video of a cab ride through 10 tunnels just east of Lithgow on YouTube . ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlcnIO26FLU&t=952s ) I appreciate that different locations have different sand stone colours but it confirmed my earlier suspicion that the light yellow is not quite right. To my eye, it should be lighter, have less yellow and, perhaps, with a hint of light brown.

 

Some areas are more pronounced than others. I'll experiment a bit more but I feel I'm getting bogged down (no pun intended) in this area when there are other locations, like the Hunter River bridge area demanding attention. Consequently, the cuttings may stay as they are for the time being until other jobs have been completed. In military terminology, it could be called a 'bypass policy'!

 

Putting a lid on it - Updated

Since installing the helix, I have been pondering the best way to deal with the space it takes up, a square just over 1200mm. My basic options were to leave the area open forming a large unsceniced space in the middle of the layout or provide some form of scenic treatment which incorporates it into the layout as a whole.

Leaving it unsceniced would work from an operational perspective but would create significant visual distraction. The only advantage that the option offers is easy access to the top of the helix for maintenance but this can be achieved using other means. The option was discarded.

It was then a question of how best to scenic the helix. My though process was assisted by the owner of the Burrawon Branch Model Railway who regularly posts You Tube videos on various aspects of his layout. Recently, he published a segment on the scenic treatment of his helix. Burrawon Branch Model Railway The value of this video was that some of his stated objectives were similar to what I am seeking to do, specifically to disguise the top of the helix and to create a visual separation between the branch line crossing the top of the helix and the mainline using it.

My solution is not quite the same as the Burrawon Branch, rather I have decided to build scenery across the top of the helix with the Kingston Plains branch line crossing this area while the main line disappears into a tunnel.

While the top of the helix is landscaped, the sides of the helix will remain open for maintenance purposes. If I find this too distracting, I may fit a curtain around it but right now, I suspect that won't be necessary. 

The 'lid' has been built using my usual technique of mass styrofoam, carved to shape and then covered with very cheap absorbent towels from Woolworths soaked in a 50/50 mix of water and PVA glue. This serves two purposes. It contains any loose balls of styrofoam which sometimes break free and provides a suitable surface for the next step, covering with a various blends of coloured tile grout again mixed with a 50/50 water and PVA glue.

 I have incorporated a few landscaping elements which could not be included on the refurbished Philip's Creek station modules.The most significant of these is the Philip's Creek water storage tanks and treatment plant. I am also incorporating a small cameo scene on the upper helix loop to provide a little bit of interest on the outside of the layout. This sandstone cliff probably has more in common with Cowan bank on the Short North rather than the line between Singleton and Muswellbrook. The threaded rod will probably become a burnt out stump.  

It's still a work in progress!

 

Just a quick update to show the work of the last few weeks as the 'blue hills' have gradually been covered with tile grout mixed in a 50/50 PVA water solution. Much more detail work to do but this has broken the back of the 'bulk earthworks'.

"So this is Christmas"

It's come around again and this will probably be my final post for 2022 as the year rapidly draws to a close,  I'd like to take the opportunity to wish all readers  a Merry Christmas and a very happy 2023 for you and your family.

 

 

Hunter River Bridge - final positioning

 

Well, it's only taken three years but the Hunter River Bridge has now been incorporated into the layout albeit with 'bumper rails' just in case something failed.

It was an easy process to remove temporary structure which has bridged the gap for the past 12 months but I had erred slightly with horizontal alignment, failing to allow for the offset of the track on the bridge. Rectifying that mistake was easy, relocating the bridge about 10mm laterally. The 3mm ply strip which serves as the bridge foundation was screwed to the base board frame.

Once the bridge was in place, I glued the track on top of the trusses with PVA glue using timber off-cuts to hold it in place as the glue cured. I still have to fit  check rails but this will happen when the scenery is completed.

Since the photos were taken, the base board frame has been covered by 3mm ply which, in due course, will become the Hunter River. Gaps have been filled with tape and jointing compound and the 'bumper rails' have gone.

The bridge will be the major scenic feature on the lower level of the layout but as I mentioned in my previous post, scenery will wait until other areas have completed. I'll then face the challenge of creating a wide expanse of water, something I haven't tried before.  So there's still a lot of work to do before I can recreate to the image that started it all ('Northern Exposures' (p 128, photographer Greg Triplett))

 

Hunter River Bridge - a bit more work

Just a quick update post on my long running Hunter River rail bridge. In my most recent post on this project at the end of March, I said that I was wrestling with the challenge of how to get a sandstone block finish on the piers and abutments. Eventually, I located a paper product called Art Printers Dressed Stone Building Papers from Modeller's Warehouse. 

The finish looks great but is very delicate. Don't use masking tape to hold it in position. The building papers are supposedly a self adhesive product and it does stick to itself but it is less successful adhering to the foam that was used to construct the abutments and piers. It was a fiddly job particularly working around the curved surfaces and it was necessary to use PVA glue in some instances when the self adhesive failed. White exposed edges were painted with acrylics.

I then used weathering powders in an attempt to represent the aged stone of the prototype. Although it looks OK, it is a much redder than I had hoped. But it is what it is. 

I fitted the three 'steel' trusses with the assistance of a three foot spirit level and then fixed a piece of timber underneath to stiffen the structure until the bridge is installed. (thanks for the suggestion Rob). Once the backdrop has been installed, the bridge will be dropped into position and the track re-laid. Scenery will happen in due course but other areas will take priority.

The Inconsistent Pedant - a 38 class at Philip's Creek

My wife recently showed me this cartoon from the Medieval Mirth and Jollity Facebook page as I am, within the family, well known for my pedantry when it comes to inaccuracies in historically themed movies and TV shows. 

My pedantry also impacts Philip's Creek. In a post about eight years ago, I recounted a project where I converted a KB parcel van to MHO guards van, the reverse of what happened in reality ( Back conversion of a KB mail van ). The primary motivation was my understanding that the KB parcel vans were not built until around 1973-74 and as such were on the cusp of my modelling time period, 1967-1973. Similarly, I have avoided purchasing models which were unlikely to have run on the Main North between Singleton and Muswellbrook in that period. At least, that was the policy until the release of the ARM 38 class. I appreciate that this is a budget priced model and there are a few shortcomings but the temptation to own a model of the premier class of NSWGR steam locomotives was too great and I bought one. 

I purchased the first model to be released, 3806, resplendent in its original green livery. Had I waited a bit, other models appropriate to my time frame became available. But I didn't know that at the time, so a green livery it was. The problem with this decision was that, by my modelling period, all of the 38 Class but three (3801, 3813 and 3830) were attired with a black livery. I didn't want to undertake a full repaint so I had to focus on 38s which carried a green livery in the late 1960s. I understand that 3813 carried its original livery throughout its life while 3801 and 3830 were repainted in a green livery in the 1960s. Unstreamlined 3806 was never going to become streamlined 3801, so it was down to a choice of two. I had also heard rumours that the 3830 repaint was a slightly different shade of green to that used when the class was introduced, so it came down to a choice of one, 3813.

As a minimum, this meant removal of the factory applied decals and the application of new numbers. As usual these days, a You Tube search turned up a multitude of potential procedures. Of these, I decided to try the method described in this clip ( How to renumber a Model Locomotive - Made Easy ) because it seemed to be less abrasive than others. It worked well, particularly for the main numbers on the side and tender although the buffer bar proved a bit more challenging. Replacement decals came from Stephen Johnson Models. 

With a bit of weathering and some extra non plastic coal, 3813 was ready to enter service, but there was one further problem. I understand that the 38 class didn't normally operate north of Newcastle because of the potential for track damage. The reality is that I knew this already and it was the primary reason why I had not purchased a 38 class earlier. But therein lies my inconsistency; when tempted with a reasonably priced model, I succumbed to that temptation even though the locomotive did not operate in the area I was modelling.

However, a 'get out of jail' card arrived from an unexpected quarter. A few weeks ago, I was reviewing the photos I acquired from the ARHS (NSW) when I was researching the Hunter River Bridge at Singleton. I found two photos showing two different 38 Class locomotives crossing the bridge. (ARHSnsw RRC 041186.jpg and ARHSnsw RRC 041186.jpg). I presume these were probably ARHS tours but, at least, they indicate that 38s did  occasionally travel further north of the Hunter and probably at least up to Muswellbrook.

So, the Philip's Creek operating schedule has now been adjusted to include an occasional tour train hauled, of course, by 3813 and, of course, the pedant lives on.

There are gears and there are gears! Updated

The splitting of the muff gears on the Trainorama 44 class is a well known fault and my locomotive 4473 was no different. A few years ago, at a model railway exhibition, I purchased a pack on replacement gears which were put away until I could find time to get around to it. 

A few months ago, I joined the NMRA and at a recent meeting, there was a short demonstration on how to replace the cracked gears on a 44 class. The first part of the demonstration focused on the technique to remove the cover plate on the bogies and second part showed how to replace the gears. The replacement gears were the same type as those which I had purchased earlier.

Armed with this knowledge, I decided that it was high time, I tackled this job. The removal of the bogie cover plate was achieved without difficulty as was the change over of each gear. The problems began when I started to reinstall the gears. The axles did not drop easily into place and required a lot of fiddling to settle in the bogie frame. When tested, the reassembled front bogie ran roughly and the rear bogie seized completely.

After several more unsuccessful attempts, it seemed that the gears were not meshing properly, certainly not as well as the set used in the demonstration. As a final throw of the dice, I purchased another pack of gears. These fitted dropped into the bogies without difficulty and 4473 was mobile again.

It seems there are gears and gears. Comparing the two packs, the teeth on the older pack seemed a bit smaller and the spacing may have been slightly different. I don't know if the older pack was faulty or if there had been some refinement in the design.

However, although 4473 is again mobile, the issue is still not fully resolved.  I have noticed that the axles on the front bogie are moving laterally, enough to displace the bushes which provide the electrical connection between the wheels and the frame. I'll check the gauging again but I suspect that the gears might be slightly shorter allowing the bushes to move more than they should. If all else fails it's off to Trainorama to purchase three new axles.

Update: I did check the gauging again and it seems I may have erred slightly in my earlier work. To date, the bushes appear to remain in position but I'll need to keep an eye on it.

 Further Update: It has still not run properly, so I gave up and purchased a complete set of wheels. That seems to have fixed it and 4473 has returned to service minus the original clicking sound.