Comtrain goes H0! H0! H0!: March 2016

2016/03/31

2016_03_31 Marches on.....

2016_03_31
Another few days , another hours work. Got my Son and Grand son visiting from Townsville. Think that's where they are now, recently Sydney, heading closer to real home Port Douglas, I think ;)

Just continuing on with the wall. But have also been playing around with Decoder pro, and spent many hours trying to clear up some sound decoder problems. Plenty of places to go see experts do this, so I will not try to say much about it
If you are on Face Book, an Australian DCC site can be found here:- DCC Downunder
search title if not connecting
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So one wall panel fixed in place, and one to go :) Before another 6m of plaster can be installed.

This one temporarily fixed. Will go out and drop it to clad it with insulation board after lunch. The cooler weather is really nice ;)

Had to pre install the sign before fixing panel into wall. Should have drilled new holes and lifted it. Too late now.
Cheers
Rod

2016/03/29

2016_03_28 just a little bit today

2016_03_28
Had to secure frame to floor and wall, them mount support struts in place, and block them to wall for strength.

The struts are in place and leveled . Had to mount them 100mm lower as the SG is dropping that much and will enter the helix at about 1015mm.

So that's 12 m of framing (only 3m to go :) )

The blocks screwed to the wall will help strengthen the supports.

Now I have to remove both frames and cut out the insulation panels to be liquid nailed to the back
Then fix them back into position to fit another two sheets of plaster on the front.

Thank goodness the weather is much nicer now.
Cheers
Rod Young

2016/03/21

2016_03_21-Climate Change :)

2016_03_21 So the weather changed Rain, high strength winds which weeded out trees with small roots, then went from 36C on Tuesday to 24C on Wednesday and 8C to 18C on Thursday.

So that means I have to catch up on the last three months at least!

The Wall !! Wished I had some East Germans to help ;)

But I do hate pulling out whatever I did last week.
So the two spacers installed a month ago had to be removed. I had placed them in position flat because I half remembered a reason to do this from the first section of wall Al and I built and Graeme helped us fit a few months back

Whilst waiting for it to cool down I remembered we set the cross pieces (noggins) in place to account for the benches that would be screwed to them later on. We forgot that the plaster had to be joined and decided to place one noggin at the join height and lay it flat to give plenty of purchase to the plaster cement and screws. I then removed those already installed and replaced them in their correct position.

This photo also shows how I keep the frame flush with the brick pillar, with two flat boards first screwed to the bricks and then screwed to the frame.
When I get some more green spaghetti I can screw the frame into the inside of the piers.

So the bottom noggin will support the SG Yard (Albury) table top. and the join between two sheets of plaster. These have to be flush and flush with the wall to support the join.

I decided (because I am naturally sloppy) to set everything out neatly, and see what happened. So far so good ;)
The right angle clamp holds the noggin in position at the right height and flush with frame.
the block of wood on left holds the noggin level and at the right height. It also allows me to use a nail gun to fix the noggin in place. I need to hold it flush though (Really dont like my hand being so close to the gun though!

Cheap Bunnings Gun $70 on EBay helps my arthritus a little and secures everything nicely.
Again the wood screwed under the left end holds the level in the noggin when the gun blasts a nail into place. Might patent that one. Just need to remember to keep the end flush with the upright

Blurred bugger! but again keep the frame flush and drive nails from other side.
(How does it blur on auto and on a timer, on a tripod, but it did not flash either)
Ok back to the shed friends. 4 noggins in place 12 to go!

Cheers
Rod

2016/03/17

2016_03_17 (continues)

2016_03_17 Sandown

All pictures can be clicked on to enlarge!
Sorry about quality :(

About my Railway

The Australian National Railways was established by the Whitlam Federal Government following a commitment made in the 1972 election to invite the states to hand over their railway systems to the federal government. In July 1975 Australian National Railways was formed taking over the operations of the federal government owned Commonwealth Railways.

The state governments of South Australia and Tasmania whose railway systems were deeply in debt, accepted. During the next two years discussions between these two states and the federal government resulted in a number of staffing and operating agreements being made that resulted in all South Australian Railways services (except for the Adelaide metropolitan passenger network) and all Tasmanian Government Railways services transferring to Australian National Railway in March 1978, the latter being re-branded AN Tasrail.

At first Victoria declined to hand over its Railways, however a change of Government after Bolte retired meant Victoria could be absorbed into AN as well.
Despite doing everything they could to tarnish ALP leader Clyde Holding, The ALP were able to defeat Hamer who was seen to be just another Bolte, doing more of the same into the future.

Clyde Holding handed over Victorian Railways to the Commonwealth where it prospered as a division of AN retaining its VR colours until later when AN decided to re-brand it as V/Line.

My Railway thus reflects what could have been ;)
And of course National Rail (Pacific National) has no place in my little scenario. Australian National was never privatised and has continually taken East Coast loads off the Highways. As well many branch lines were upgraded and Whitlam's policy of decentralisation actually moved employment to towns with a ready pool of workers, which of course took the pressure of Melbourne which was starting to expand as bush kids moved away from the Country in search of education and employment ( just as Gough Whitlam envisaged it would do)
Rod Young

Comtrain goes H0! H0! H0!