Felixstowe Area “N” Gauge Group
SEPTEMBER 2023 NEWSLETTER


NEWS FROM MEMBERS
Chris - I’m off to the International N Gauge Show on Sunday 10th September. I lways find it very enjoyable to see so many layouts of different types, from different countries and operated in many different ways. I'm sure I'll have more to say on this next month after I've been.

 
EXHIBITION DIARY by Trevor

Sat 16th September, Ipswich Railway Modellers Open Day at 40a Norfolk Road IP4 2HB. 10-4

Sat 30th September, Colin D'eaths model railway show at Memorial Hall, Trimley St Martin.

Sat 7th October, Sudbury exhibition, The Stevenson Centre, Great Cornard, Sudbury, CO10 0WD. 10-4 Adults £6.


HUNT COUPLINGS by Mike
I have had a couple of boxed sets of megafret wagons for a while, but hadn’t run them because of the pesky couplings between the pairs of ‘frets. Once the fitting is installed, it is difficult to undo, which makes storage and re-railing a pain.
I had read that a company had brought out magnetic Hunt couplings to solve this problem, and Kevin had also been watching with interest. When I heard that he had bought some, I asked to take a look. They looked ideal, so I too bought some. They come in sets of ten pairs – five to go between the linked wagons, and five to replace the standard NEM coupling at each end. I was happy with the NEM coupling, so I just changed the central links. They take a bit of shoving in, but once properly fitted they rotate nicely, so much so that you have to ensure at least one of them is central, to attract the other when putting a train together. Assembling a train couldn’t be easier. I was sceptical about how strong the magnets are when pulling a load, so I set up 16 wagons with container loads to try them out. Perfection! They ran superbly, no derailing or uncoupling, and I felt that I could probably add several more wagons.


My Kato test track has quite sharp bends, and the wagons actually touched corners running round them, but there were no problems.
Kevin and I are both utilising the unused end connectors on our HST’s, which as standard are a pain to connect up, and constantly uncouple. Switching them over on the power cars is a doddle, as they are straightforward NEM pockets.
The coaches are a little more tricky, as they have a kind of “floating” NEM, which has to be held securely whilst you shove the coupling in quite hard! Luckily, I have a pair of locking tweezers, which did the job admirably.


Again, instant success! Assembling the train took seconds instead of half an hour.
The HST runs nicely, close coupled, again with no derailments or uncoupling. I’m absolutely sold on these magnetic couplings. They are £13.45 for a pack of ten pairs, from West Hill Wagon Works.

Be careful though, as the magnets are glued into the coupling, and two of mine had been packed too quickly after assembly, and the couplings were stuck firmly together. Being 3D printed they are very brittle, and I broke a couple trying to get them apart. Once I realised what was wrong, I found that a scalpel blade inserted between them solved the problem. I did email the company to give them my feedback, but to date have had no reply.


DON'T PANIC! by Chris
It's ok - despite a call from Mike in the last newsletter to have me hunted down and shot, I'm still here!!
Thanks Mike, all I did was send you a few inspirational Network Rail video clips, I didn't know you were going to then buy everything in model form and blame me for the strain on your finances!
I do understand though, I'm a sucker for seeing something in real life and then wanting that very same item in N gauge, it's how I acquired my first 4MT Standard tank loco - saw one at the Llangollen Railway and wanted one straight away.
So many locos I see and want, yet sadly aren't available in N gauge - the S&D 2-8-0 7F's and one which is a safe bet to say that we'll never see, the handsome 0-8-0 Z class tank engine of the Southern railway. Never mind, with Farish's latest releases, we've got enough to going on with, so can't really complain.
When I see Richard on the Farish stand at the Fosse Way N gauge show, I'll mention the Z class. I'll probably find myself on the sharp end of his blunderbuss then, Mike's can take a rest for a while...


MODULES by Trevor
In the last newsletter, I showed modifications on the return loop. The electrics on this are now nearly complete. I've also been working on the construction of a new fiddle yard / return loop board for the other end of a run. The woodwork is complete and track is now laid. I'm now working on the electrics for this.


As you can see it has 3x loops for trains on the main lines. These can be split in two for shorter formations allowing up to six trains. Like the other return board there is a link between the main limes and the third. Again, this can provide storage for two trains that can be used to interchange with modules. Finally, there are two sidings on the third line that can be used as a shuttle with the other return board. These two boards will be used at Colin’s show on 30th Sep. As mentioned before, I'm not sure the electrics will be 100% for automatic operations but will be functional for manual use.


SMITHS OF SHERINGHAM SCENIC DAY by Chris
I did mention last time that I was involved in the 'Scenic Demonstration Day' at Smiths Model Railways in Sheringham.
James the shop owner did advertise this event and to my surprise there was actually a small queue at the door before the shop opened - the pressure was on the get everything correct during the demonstration!
A small crowd gathered around the table I had, which was full of all the scenic items we needed to make hills, get grass on, make some trees etc.


Tips were shared, not just from me, but between the customers too! I certainly learnt a few things! Everyone swapped and showed photos on their phones of items they had made, and their way of doing things, and the whole morning was more like friends all talking about techniques, and how they did something rather than a lesson if you like, of just one guy telling them all how it's done. There were certainly some incredible modellers there I must say. There were also some folk who weren't quite sure where to start so they left feeling very encouraged and one guy even went home with a couple of hundred quid’s worth of materials to crack on with as soon as he got home!
As well as me at the scenic table, Karen (the assistant manager) was making up Metcalfe kits on the shop counter all day long and one of the models she completed, a Nissan hut was then mounted in a small diorama which I believe is for sale in the shop!
So all in all, a very enjoyable day, and James tells me that he plans to do another one next year.

LAYOUT NEWS by Mike
Due to ill health, I have very little to report. Before being taken ill, I did manage to paint the water in the harbour area – EIGHT TIMES until I was happy with it! I then varnished it with “gloss varnish”, which smelt like PVA, looked like PVA and felt like PVA, so I think that’s what it was. Whatever, it did the job beautifully. I bent down to take a low-level photo, with the light behind me, and I was stunned when I saw the finished effect….
You can see the ripples in the water, which I applied so carefully, and the reflections of the buildings on the quay. To my eye it looks like the real thing when viewed this way, which is how most spectators will see it, peering between the viaduct arches.


The only other thing I got done was to cut and fit sixteen feet of backscene along the length of the layout, using hardboard finished in white. I haven’t made my mind up about what I will do for backscene yet, I’m still bouncing ideas around in my head.
I bought the plywood to coffin the boards together for transportation, but it’s out of the question for me to be able to build them as things stand.


SHERINGHAM MODEL RAILWAY SHOW by Chris
At the start of September, 'The Coalyard' layout was booked to appear at this show. I set up on the Friday afternoon and just finished off a few bits on the Saturday morning along with track cleaning etc.
I was so relieved that the layout all ran well with no glitches.
As I was on my own, the organiser arranged for someone to take over the layout while I had the supplied lunch, all very nice indeed.
The layout was well received by the public with many of them calling back two or three times.
The scenic work is far more complete now as you'll all see when the layout appears at the Felixstowe bash in October.





NEW TOYS
A selection of our member's latest acquisitions.....

A few new items to play with this month, a Farish Freightliner class 47 and 66 have joined the modern image fleet here, as has another Farish Colas 66.


I didn't search for any of these, I just get sent links by well-meaning folk to various websites and well, you know how it goes... 


The coach fleet has also been added to, some LMS Stanier coaches have arrived here to complete a couple of rakes that were missing the odd coach or two.



-*-*-*-*-

I picked this one up very cheaply from eBay. Fortunately for my finances, not much to report from me this month on the new toy front!


Graham Farish 66411 ”Eddie the engine” in Stobart Rail livery
I’m hoping to build up a good stock of the Stobart Tesco containers, to vary the loads on my megafrets, but they seem quite scarce. As they carry the Stobart ID number in huge letters on the roof, you can’t really run duplicates. Do any of you have duplicates you’d like to trade? I bought a pristine set and a weathered set brand new, thinking they would be different numbers, but I had forgotten that Dapol don’t change the item when they weather it! So, I have spares of 02 and 04. Swap, anyone?