N Gauge Model Railway Layout Fitting Dapol NEM Conversions Kit to PECo Wagon Elvenhome EP 149
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- Опубліковано 15 вер 2024
- In this video of my N Gauge Model Railway layout Elvenhome, I show the start of the work to create the Quarry face on the layout and the work tht I will be concentrating on for the next couple of months. I also show the process for fitting the Dapol East Fit NEM Conversion kit to a PECO wagon to allow me two use the easi shunt couplings. The LNER and LMS do battle in the running session with the A4 Seagull and a rake of Thompson coaches up against an 8F and rake of Stannier coaches, both sound fitted.
Great video Stephen. I like what you’re doing with the quarry face, that looks really interesting. I’m very glad I don’t do “N” gauge, that part of the video with the couplings just blew my mind! Thanks for sharing and have a good break. Roy.
Thanks Roy. The couplings are fiddly little things. There are times when I wonder why I chose N gauge but then I see the A4 go by with 8 coaches behind it and I remember. The quarry face looks as if it will work out well. Looking forward to getting to it in due course. Stephen
Thanks Stephen for a very useful video. I will be converting a number of wagons and coaches to nem pockets and had found it a daunting prospect. Your clear guidance was just what I needed. Regarding the quarry I also liked the darker stone it reminds me of a number of disused quarries in Devon and Somerset. Thank you again for this wonderful series of videos.
I am glad it was useful David. I have since discovered that I had an old Grafar wagon among some that were donated to me. I have now changed that also but it took a lot more work to remove part of the under frame to bring the coupling up enough. I'll show it in the next video if I remember, but that of course won't be for a while. The more I look at the colours the more I like the darker one, but as others have suggested I don't have to have the whole face the same colour. Stephen
Hi Stephen. Quarry: Not having done research on quarries, I had similar thoughts as David Rauger in your previous video about using more than one colour. NEM pocket conversion: As usually happens with these sort of processes, the first time you do it, it takes longer and mistakes (little ones, hopefully) occur. Subsequent tries are usually quicker and easier. I made notes of some of your comments on the proces, so tank you for proving the usefullness of such videos. Enjoy your break south of the border!
Hi Paul and thanks. It will be interesting to work on the bigger area for the quarry front and I’ve had a number of useful suggestions for varying the colour across the area. It is a rule of videoing that as soon as you turn the camera on things simply don’t behave. It’s why I don’t do many demonstrations. Still it is better to show it warts and all. Even with the problems it didn’t take a lot of time to make the changes. Stephen.
Hi Stephen, Really liking what you doing with the quarry rock faces, I do prefer the darker ones but great effect! Looking forward to seeing how this part of the layout develops! Cheers Gary
Hi Gary. I am pleased with how the test piece has come out and have just begun to work on High Elven. I’m looking forward to getting quarry face I. P,ace. I really like the darker grey and I was pleased with how the WWS moss weathering powder worked on it. Stephen
Good evening Stepen, I really enjoyed this video, the information and how to for the couplings was very insightful, I have got to change a set of boggies on my pullman so it will be interesting to see if I will be needing this video again for reference. At present I am soldering reed switches ready to setup the signaling on the up line of the Hayridge Station. As always great work and I hope to catch up with you again soon at an exhibition.
Regards Allan
Hi Allan. I'm glad you found it useful. I'll be interested to see the result of all your soldering. I will put some signals on my layout once all the structural work is done, but they won't be working ones. I am hoping to get to Warely this year but that depends on whether there are still strikes on the railway. Stephen
Nice, I love the green color for the quarry
Yes, I do too. I was very pleased how that came out, and when I make the quarry face I will show how I get that effect. Stephen
Hello, super interesting video 🛤🚂👍👍.
Greetings Gert
Thanks very much Gert. Stephen
Stephen, I like the dark cliff case. Of course, you could use two or three colours just work out the stratification of the rocks. All the colourways look great. I was thinking that the canal basin just needs the water as the base colour as is is perfect dirty canal! Have a great break. Regards Stephen.
Thanks Stephen. I suspect I will go with the darker colour, but it's amazing how much difference there can be when you have a larger area with a colour. We shall see. I am keen to get the PVA in for the water for the canal, but that will be among the last things to be done. It does look quite authentic as it is so I am hopeful it will look really good once it's done. Stephen
Very good, very informative, loved the music too. Have a great Holiday Stephen.
Thanks Chris. I enjoyed making it, even if I managed to get things the wrong way round at one point! Stephen
Admirable, Stephen. Just producing the video is clever enough but to show a process, warts and all, in real time is excellent. 👏👏👏
Thanks Joan. It is funny that whenever you film something it rarely goes smoothly. It's why I don't often film me doing anything tricky. It does seem that lots of people have found that section useful. Stephen
Hi Stephen I'm doing a binge watch of elvenholme. I like the quarry idea. My only thought is the foam board can get damaged if its a removable scene rather than fixed, in my experience. I ended up plastering, well sculptamoulding the faces to prevent damage. Any of the colours will be appropriate especially after weathering. Anyway enjoy your trip and we'll see you in a few weeks atb Andy
Hi Andy. I did think about using plaster but I will try the foam first. I like the effect I can get. I also hope that I won't have to remove it much, or hopefully at all, but I will heed your warning about its fragility. Stephen
Hi Stephen! You're making some good progress with the quarry face, and the range of colours you've tested is impressive! I was wondering why you have to settle on only one of them? Maybe a subtle blend going from dark to light then back to dark again would work? Different parts of the quarry face would maybe age and weather at different rates due to various factors, such as how long it had been exposed to the world! Thanks for the tips on using the Dapol NEM conversion kits, especially for going the extra mile and showing us how not to do it as well as the correct way! :) I'll definitely be trying this in the near future! Enjoy your time away, and good luck with making further progress! All the best, Ian.
Hi Ian and thanks. I think you are right that I don't need to go with only one colour, and variation across so large an area may well be a better idea. I did find it funny that my first go at it went reasonably smoothly, apart from discovering the need to fit the inner pocket in before fixing to the wagon, but turning on the camera cause the modelling gods to have fun and games with me. Stephen
Hello Stephen, thanks for the NEM conversion demo. It’s valuable to have these special tips that improve on the instructions. I wonder whether the old pockets on the Farish vans are easier to chop off with them being less chunky, although then there is the added difficulty in not being able to dismantle the body. I wish I’d had the foresight to fit NEM pockets when building the NGS wagon kits! Best wishes, -Ed
Hi Ed. I'm glad you found the demo useful. As it happens following an earlier comment, I found an old Grafar Single Vent Box Van and I have successfully fitted the NEM pocket, but it required quite a bit of cutting of the under frame. The coupling pocket had effectively to be fitted to the underside of the body of the van, with a shim to get the right height. It all looks fine, and I will show it in the next video, but a tougher task than the PECO wagon. I've not yet tried to change one a post Bachmann Farish wagon. Stephen
Hi Stephen, interesting developments, a very good move I’m thinking, to allow access in case of maintenance. I was in Wales last week and noted that the quarries changed colour on a daily basis, depending on lighting/ weather etc so I’m sure that issue will be resolved. The coupling issue seems like a job you need to be in the right mood for, have a nice break, take care. Phil
Hi Phil. It does seem from all the images I've now looked at, that long abandoned quarries can take on any of the colours I have produced so far. The coupling conversion is really straightforward if you don't put the things on the wrong way round, with superglue on them, in the first place 🤭 Stephen
Can I suggest that you avoid having the quarry face too uniform? The quarries I used to go rock climbing in had all kinds of buttresses protruding, some of them quite flat and smooth. If you could incorporate that idea then you could use your lighter colour scheme for the buttress faces and then use the green weathering in the shadier nooks and crannies where grass and lichens are more likely to form. Plus any buttresses would break up the quarry wall to make it more interesting. Just a thought 🙂
Hi Phil. Thanks for your comments. I will need to think about how I cut into the longer section of the quarry face. The test piece was quite small. You have given me some very useful information so thanks for that. Stephen
Hi Stephen - Always good to have access to the electrics on a layout - so having a removable section is perfectly sensible. Glad the conversation kit worked out for the couplings. They can be fiddly but worth it to get the NEM pockets fitted. As always the running sessions show your layout off to perfection. Hope you have a good holiday and catch you later.
Hi Euan. I had toyed with not having access, particularly as I had never had any problem in that section of the railway, but that joiner loosening was a timely warning. The conversion kit is a little fiddly but pretty straightforward if you fit the coupling the right way around in the first place. I'm looking forward to loosing the last unbuilt part of the layout. Not long now until the last of the white foam is covered. Stephen
Hi Stephen, i found it really absorbing watching you work on them couplings, it did make me laugh (in a nice way!) when you got them round the wrong way because that’s exactly what I would do! All good info for me as I grind my way to getting to the point I will actually be doing something like that!
Really looking forward to seeing how the escarpment/ quarry face starts taking shape. You’re very right about doing things in the right order, that can really be a time killer having to re-do something because you hadn’t thought something through.
Nothing has happened at all at Exehaven, I’m itching to get back at it but life is really getting in the way at the moment!
Thanks as always for a really interesting and informative video.
Have a nice break and cheers for now, John
Hi John and thanks. It was typical that having fitted them without a hitch on the first wagon I should fluff it up on camera. However even with the two little hitches it still showed that it doesn't take long to do. I still keeping in ming Chris' "paralysis by analysis" comment, but equally you have to guard against not planning properly. I really keen to get on with the quarry face, but it really does have to wait until High Elven is in a state where I can fix it in place. Life really isn't a respecter of the need for railway modellers to have time on their layout. It is most unreasonable of it. Stephen
Good video Stephen
Thanks very much Josh. Stephen
Hi Stephen, the quarry face colours look fine for a granite quarry but have you decided what the rock is ? Limestone can be white, grey and even red ! Needs to have grass on the ledges as well.
The NEM pocket conversion gets easier the more you do it.
Hi Mark. I am not going to be specific as to the nature of the rock. It doesn't really matter and I am sure to choose a rock that it is impossible to tunnel through, or which would not support the weight of the railway, or is not found in the UK. As to colour I have been given some very good links by various subscribers particularly of long abandoned quarries. Nature has a very clever way of reclaiming and in the process producing a wide range of colours. The coupling conversion is really straightforward, you just need to pay attention when you put the pocket in the jig. A pocket with superglue on it can be a sticky little devil to deal with when you need to turn it through 180 degrees! Stephen
Have you thought having the backing for the portals to be sturdy enough to take the weight of the board above? This might hive you more room to gets your hands in. Thanks for the coupling segment - will watch that again on the telly, you lose a bit watching it on the phone. Thanks as always for sharing your progress
HI Dave. I did originally think I would use the tunnels for accessing any problem but when I tested how far I could reach from the front edge it really wasn't that far. The main area of droop on the board, unsurprisingly, is in the middle at the front. So I want to put two props along the front and I can fix where they will beonce I can be quite sure where all the wires go underneath. Changing the couplings really is quite easy, if you get the coupling around the right way in the first place. I will have a go with the sprung fixed coupling at some point. Stephen
@Elvenhome Sorry, I didn't explain that very well. I was thinking of removeable pieces at each end which included the tunnel portals I.e. the back for rock face either side of the mouth. Also you could have a batten that is sitting or fixed to supports either side of the middle bit to spread the weight of the upper level.
Stephen, if you are constructing a query, is it serviced by a railway? If not, why not? You could have a short branch line servicing the quarry.
Hi Andrew. The quarry isn't served by a railway because it has been disused for about 120 years. The canal was built to take away the rock early in the 19th century. Unfortunately two directors skipped with all the money and the quarrying stopped. The Railways then arrived driving a tunnel through the hill and thereby saving High Elven from further quarrying. The sawmills moved in, the last remnant of which you can still see. Plus I've stuck all my track down and I really don't want to make changes to it now. The idea for the quarry face was given to me by a subscriber two videos ago to solve a problem I was having working out how to join the upper board to the canal basin. It's a brilliant idea that has helped me enormously. Stephen
Hi I think that the greenery on the quarry face will give an impression of it not being used for some time. Are you going to put a couple of large rocks at the base?
Also I am thinking of using new couplings on my rolling stock, I am trying to decide between Dapol or Hunt. Some of my rolling stock is Grafar and Minitrix do you think it would work.
Regards
Keith
Hi Keith. I must confess I haven't got as a far as thinking about what might be at the base. I do intend to put greenery at some points on the face, but I have been directed to a number of useful images of long abandoned quarries and interestingly few have much greenery over much of the face, but one or two were very affected by moss. The Dapol conversion kit is, I think, aimed more towards the old style couplings used on older wagons such as Grafar or minitrix. The image in the instruction is of a coupling with its little spring which looks just like the coupling on the only Grafar wagon that I have. I think that may well get converted soon. I know a lot of people really like the Hunt couplings, and if you are going to keep your rakes of wagons together I suspect that is good choice. I am really keen to be able to do some shunting at High Elven and therefore I want to use the Dapol 'easi-shunt' couplings. Stephen
Hi Keith Following replying to you I had a go at replacing the coupling on my Grafar wagon (it is the 10ft 12T Single Vent Van in BR brown). I have successfully fitted the new NEM sockets, but I had to cut quite a bit of the under frame away. The pocket couldn't be sat on the under frame because it was too low to fit with other wagons. I could fit the pocket with the thickest shim directly to the body of the van by cutting away a section of the under frame between the buffers. It all looks fine but a bigger job than with the PECO wagons. Stephen
Hi Stephen, thank you for your help, I think I will convert the Peco Wagons first and then graduate to the other makes.
regards
Keith
Hi Steven.. do you know if the conversion kit will take the elite hunt coupling, also do you think the conversion kit will fit on the older Lima/ mitred coaches many thanks..Graham (grandads little railway)
Hi Graham. The conversion kit is a standard NEM pocket. I happened to have to hand some Standard size Elite Hunt couplings that I haven't fitted yet. They do fit, but I found they droop quite a bit when the wagon isn't coupled to anything. It may be that the standard size is really meant for locos and larger wagons than my little box vans. I also fitted one of the ordinary range of Hunt Coupling but this time the smaller size (NEM Close) and that was much better for smaller wagons. So the issue will be to get the right size of coupling. As for Lima, I haven't tried to fit one yet. I think I have an old Lima wagon somewhere. I have tried an old Grafar (pre Bachmann) wagon and it could be done but needed quite a bit of surgery. I gave up on an old Minitrix. It needed too much surgery which was difficult to do without damaging the body of the wagon. I'll show the Grafar wagon in the next video. If I manage to find the Lima and do it I'll show that also. Stephen
@@Elvenhome thank you your video and reply has influenced me to give it a try…Graham