Old photos

I've been looking at pictures of Timaru harbour, and came across this old plate.

At first look, its just a run of the mill internet picture.
However once you start scanning in, it just gets better and better.
 (if you have a slower connection, just wait and the detail will appear. sort of like Google maps)
The details on the wharf and the dredges are just amazing (I can make out the signs on the wharf).  Will digital photos be this good in 100 years?

Friday evening

To be a real bush tram you have to have a line running through the weeds.

It should be do-able with a bit of thought.

Tomytec moving bus system

In my hunt for more information on how the system works (and there are some very good Youtube vids), no one has taken one apart to have a look at the innards. So as we always like to go where fools fear to tread, out with the screwdriver. First up a better picture of the model. 2 LR44 batteries in place.

 The steering mechanism is a quite impressive piece of engineering, as it not only steers, but also rocks from side to side so that all 4 wheels are always in contact with the road. The white knob is the on/off switch.

 Taking the back panel off we can see the gearing. Nothing else interesting in this bit so its goes back on.

 Undoing the screw in the middle of the top and suddenly its all on.

From left to right we have:
- The control chip with a detector unit attached. This picks up magnets in the roadway which can be used to start and stop the bus and change its speed. The square plastic piece holds the detector in place in the chassis.
-The motor bit. Not much that could be changed here.
-The battery holder. It is part of the chassis so would be hard to do away with.
-The steering mechanism. The top piece is the rocking part, and the bottom piece is the steering part.

So, there are some options for altering this. I think it could be shortened with the detector at the back of the chassis and the batteries on top of the chip. This would work better for a delivery truck.

Its an interesting wee beast/and I think that there is a bit of potential to add this to a layout. I already have some thoughts.....