Monthly Archives: May 2017

Oficina postal

Posted on 31/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

A major source of income for railways used to be the carriage of mail and express traffic. British Rail totally wiped out its parcels business during “Organisation for Quality” – management speak for reorganisation for privatisation – which in true management speak … Continue reading →

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Sunday engineering work

Posted on 28/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

The track around the points at Grande has been ballasted today and, joy of joys, the blades are not glued solid. I’ll leave it a couple of days before clearing flangeways and cleaning the rail heads. The trees have been … Continue reading →

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Half way round the world

Posted on 26/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

Well impressed, I ordered these trees less than a fortnight ago, from China, and they arrived at lunchtime today. Palm trees at Grande. Having travelled half way round the world they have been dispatched to Sierra Oculta and are now … Continue reading →

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Upscaling

Posted on 25/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

I’ve been asked on Facebook how buildings can be converted from HO/OO to O scale. Replying to a FB post doesn’t allow multiple photographs so rather than link to several such conversions it’s easier to post a summary as a … Continue reading →

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Another Wednesday at Grande

Posted on 24/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

Once again it’s my day off work, so I’ve been doing some work instead! The passenger depot at Grande is now looking a lot more like an O scale building instead of an HO scale one on a block of … Continue reading →

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Bigger than expected

Posted on 18/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

My idea for the goods shed at Grande was for a fairly modest structure between the outer narrow gauge siding and the baseboard edge. However, in Sierra Oculta things seldom turn out quite as planned. While I was cutting the … Continue reading →

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Hardcore modelling

Posted on 15/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

Probably not a good idea to Google that! The salvaged timber used for the framework of Grande’s baseboard came with quite a bit of plasterboard attached. This stuff is horrible, you can’t recycle it and it’s virtually impossible to find … Continue reading →

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Knitting with only one needle

Posted on 14/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

OK, not quite knitting, but soldering with only one iron doesn’t have the same effect. A big advantage of building a static layout instead of one that is portable is that the woodworking is a lot easier. However, the reverse … Continue reading →

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Rusting away

Posted on 12/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

A major influence on my early narrow gauge modelling was the Craig and Mertonford Railway as described in P D Hancock’s book “Narrow Gauge Adventure”. Like the FCPyF the C&MR changed noticeably over the years but perhaps my favourite version … Continue reading →

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Developments at Grande

Posted on 10/05/2017 by Bob Hughes

As usual Wednesday is my day off so I’ve been busy this morning, cooking in the kitchen and bodging in the garage. The new cassette (above) for transferring trains between Centrales and Grande differs from those solely for use at … Continue reading →

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