N Gauge Model Railway - Episode 6 - It's Alive!!

Documenting my journey into model railways.

As I mentioned in an earlier episode of this series, I actually have another loco in the shape of a very battered Minitrix No 201 0-6-0T Dock Tank Loco in British Railways black which I found in a £3 grab bag of toys in a charity shop.

It did work, but not very well, so I had a go at blindly repairing it.  I'm a man, I don't need instructions... how hard can it be?

I killed it...

...or at least I thought I had.  I disassembled the running gear and could clearly see that there was nothing stopping the motor from moving about in the chassis and consequently the worm gear from becoming unmeshed with the drive gear.  Two tiny countersunk screws were missing from the motor plate.

Thanks to the information found on the marvellous site Classic Minitrix I was able completely strip down the chassis and to put it back together with the wheels in the right configuration.  I don't know if this is normal but this little engine uses the wheels and chassis as pickups from one rail and isolators on the axle allow other side of the wheelset to pick up from the other rail.  

As soon as I applied power the motor sputtered into life.

It's not out of the woods yet as it is missing some bits like a buffer, the two tiny countersunk screws which hold the motor in place and both couplers, springs and the plates which hold the whole shebang together.

I'm sure that these are readily available on the internet somewhere like Lendons of Cardiff.

It really does need a lick of paint as it currently looks like a very well played with matchbox car. Fortunately the decals are in great condition so at bit of black enamel and a protective coat of matt varnish should see it back in good cosmetic order.

The Tale of 1,600 Machine Screws

Sourcing the screws to retain the motor was not difficult as there are plenty of eBay sellers offering tiny watch screws.  The challenge is discovering what size screw Minitrix used back in the day when they designed this little loco.  

The answer is M1.6 x 3mm.  I know, because I bought 1,600 countersunk machine screws to try to find two which were the right size.

How does it Run?

Like the clappers.  It's not great at very slow scale speeds but as you can see it flies around the small loop on my layout.  My choice of electrofrog points is causing it to get stuck (hence the speed) but it runs.

Not to worry, there are big changes coming to Upper Carrom so tune in next week.

N Gauge Model Railway - Carrom Table Layout - Episode 1

Documenting my journey into model railways.

Coffe Table Layout (or should I say Carrom Table)

Those who know me in meatspace are aware of my passion for Carrom, the tabletop shuffleboard game played in most parts of the indian subcontinent.  I purchased a table a few years ago and converted into a coffee table.

This is the perfect base for my N gauge Layout and measures 32" square to the outside edge.

Starting with a Starter Set

I was lucky to snipe a Graham Farish 370-025 Tank Loco Starter Set from ebay for less than £80.  This was an absolute bargain and in great condition.  The set includes 8 pieces of settrack scribing a circle with the smallest 9" radius curve.

Also in the set came a 0-6-0 Southern Tank loco, 2 wagons and a brake van.  The loco will definitely be getting a paint treatment as it looks really quite plasticky and I think with the application of some black panels and some pin striping it will look much less like a toy.

I did also have a small collection of 3 wagons and a Minitrix 2f 0-6-0 Dock Tank Locomotive 47160 which I found in a charity shop for £3.  I hope to get that loco working again as I seem to have blown it up!!.

Building a Box

All the best layouts are enclosed with beautifully painted backdrops and so I designed my enclosure to be tall on 3 sides with a lower front section enabling easy access to rail locos and rolling stock and to get unfettered views of the layout.   

The sides also pull double duty creating a well so that the layout can be removed easily when that all important game of Carrom needs playing.  My design should allow for everything trainset related to move with the layout and also provide easy access to the underside of the layout where the wiring channels will be.

I tried to get some MDF for this project from my local B&Q and Homebase stores.  However, they seem to have stopped selling DIY materials in real world sizes and now appear to only sell Christmas decorations and pillows.  The struggle is real people.

I need the following boards:

• 1 x 32"x 32" (813mm x 813mm) 
• 3 x 33" x at least 6" (813mm x 153mm)
• 1 x 33" x at least 3"(813mm x 76.5mm)

I am designing much of this layout using my go-to 3d modelling software sketchup free and hope that this will be of great assistance when planning out the placement of tracks.

Layout Wishlist

32" square is not exactly a huge space, but I would like to try to get

• 1 x central small 9" radius loop with some internal shunting space
  
• 1 x middle larger 12" radius mainline loop which perhaps goes into a tunnel at the rear of the layout.
  
• 1 x outer elevated loop which climbs on the left drops down on the right and reconnects with the mainline at the front of the layout.

The elevated loop ios going to be most challenging as there will need to be a removable section so that any loco's going through the tunnel can be retrieved if they derail.

Carrom Table Layout Running Video