The BIG update

It has been a while since I updated my blog, and quite a bit has happened in the last few days so I will do an update now.

Firstly, I have a new loco!! I bought it from a friend at AMRA, the club that I go to for $150. It is an Austrains DL50 in the National Rail Charcoal livery that has been weathered, detailed and had the lighting removed so it runs better. Here are a few photos:

Drivers side

Co-drivers side

Back

Front

An idea for a train I am going to to is a Patrick PortLink trip train with 14 wagons and 2 locos:

AN6, DL50, 5x RQIW, 1x VQOF, 8x NQOX. The wagons for this train will cost $278.95 and the AN will be $275 or $300, depending on weather I pre-order or not.

But first I have to build a yard, because the loop and 2 sidings at the front of my board is getting crowded and it is too short. Here is the plan (click it for a bigger version):

The space avaliable is 3.4m by 40cm, the existing track is right on the edge of the board. The yard will have the first automated points on the layout, as I will be unable to reach them from the front of my board.

I have worked out the costs to be:

11x Peco Flexi track, $54.45 based on $4.95 a peice from Hobbyco

$103.40 for 2 electrofrog 3 way points from Tom's Hobbies

$95.75 for 5 electrofrog small radius points based on $19.15 per turnout from Toms Hobbies.

Various Atlas standard sections I.E. 9" straights, 18" radius curves, 1/2 and 1/3 18" raduis curves.

Just a small point I noticed with my RQIW wagons, I bought pack RQIW-2, which should include RQIW's 60319X, 60321N, 60323X, 60334C and 60338P. I didn't get any of these wagons in my pack, instead recieving RQIW's 60309E, 60313E, 60318D, 60330Q, 60336B :S

I have also started a new page, called AMRA NSW, which will contain photos of my visits. I will post here when I update it, in the same way that I post when I update my photography page.