AustO

I have decided for the time being to only publish major changes on this blog.
To make connection with others easier I have started a new Yahoo group.
It is called "AustO"
While it initially assists two of us to keep in contact it is there for all to use who model Australian prototype in O scale, 1:48, 1:45, 1:43.5.............. you chose
3-rail, clockwork or DCC.... you chose
2foot, Cape, Stephenson or Irish gauges.... all are equal in my eye
Come along and show us your wares.... we'll take the rough and the smooth.
Bob

Chain drive

With what appears to be the world supply of POM chain drive components used for O gauge models having gone up the spout  I have been on the search for something to replace them.
I purchased some gears and chain from Technobots in the UK thanks to a suggestion by a member of  The Guild. While not up to the standard of the originals, beggars can't be.... well you know!

Here is the result of my ideas in this test bogie. Some deliberate and not so deliberate horrors introduced for the purposes of seeing how imperfection effects operation (I'm good at imperfection) . :>)
Two types of pickup being used... my usual wire method and flat brass strip ala some commercial offerings.

 

 

I have yet to add a tensioner for the chain.

Testing will commence when we have a layout to run it on.

Ventilating

Despite being rather one handed at the moment I decided to push the steel carriage project along a bit.
I was rather short of ventilators for the roof of the MHO and in keeping with the minimum cost idea of this O gauge layout I searched around the house for something suitable.
After ceasing to be part of the music scene some years ago I had stored away a large collection of guitar strings which I discovered recently had rusted away quite nicely ( note for next life.... store them in oil). After inserting a suitable nail in one of the brass turnings that are attached at one end of each string I decided this would do to represent a mushroom ventilator.

4

And so it came to pass that the MHO was ventilated.

p.s.

Santa heard my plea and arrived early with some wireless upgrades to my Digitrax UT4's and a duplex radio interface. Bliss!!

Track

While most of my experience with O gauge has been using my own handmade track from recycled code 100 rail I decided that this time a more robust section was required. I deliberated on which flextrack to purchase for quite sometime. In the end the availability locally of the Peco code 124BH and the known fact that Peco track holds up fairly well in the Australian sun convinced me that was the best option.
I also purchased some rail section from Slaters. This is advertised as code 125BH. While it was principally purchased for other structural uses apart from trackwork I was curious how it was meant to be joined.
Members of the GOG who replied to my question had filed down the base to fit Peco joiners as used for the Peco track.
By chance I remembered some Atlas joiner for code 100 were stored away with a few lengths of track.
The Atlas joiners were a near perfect fit.

Here is shown a join, while 3 Atlas joiners are at the rear of a Peco SL10

3 carriage progress

Still no progress outdoors at this stage but some more work on the 3 carriages.
Sides have been given a first coat of paint so window fitting is not too far away.

Just spent a weekend running trains on a friend's indoor layout. Often four trains moving at once. The potential for an impressive cornfield meet with two O gauge 7mm scale trains was high but we managed to avoid any disasters. Running foreign stock on a layout is also a good way to shake out any gremlins in both the layout and the stock.
My friend has a very nice finished HO layout but it sees little use when I am there.
The running sessions have reinforced my preference for radio throttles and sound equipped locos.... I put some miles up on his sound equipped 44 class and 30T; often walking around with them. If I write early to Santa  and promise to be a good boy maybe he will bring me a radio conversion for my DCC system.