I made this "Public Convenience" for my layout from an old Kestrel(?) building that I have had in my box of stuff for a while - I took pics at various stages of the build, as I thought it may be of interest.
I hope you like it.
This is an idea I had for a cinema on my layout, I believe it is a Machine Shed or Machine House by Heljan.
I bought it second-hand online, unpainted but incredibly well glued! It had damaged windows, which I had to shuffle around to get all the good ones on the visible sides of the building.
Because of the glue, dismantling caused uneven breaks between some sections - this was counteracted by strategic trimming and reassembly into a slightly smaller structure, the roof panels were sim
I purchased some Peco SL-345 AWS ramps with the intention of hiding a couple of reed switches I have on the layout. They are linked to "arc effect" LED circuits and are activated by magnets added to the underside of my EMU's.
I'd hoped that they would hide the switches straight from the box, and they did - unfortunately, a test run with my Class 08 shunter had it left high and dry!
With some very careful scoring, filing and a little sanding I eventually succeeded in creating a cavity ju
Just a quick couple of pics of this Red Star Parcel Point that I made from bits and bobs in my spares box.
It is based on a Farish Scenecraft resin model, which in turn is based on a real building.
I'm quite pleased with it, if not a perfect match for the original, it cost me nothing to make - and apart from the brickwork the entire paint job is red, grey and white primers, even the roof is a trimmed down bit of worn out sandpaper sprayed with grey primer!
I have left off the CCTV wa
Third rail was added to the layout prior to ballasting - by no means prototypically, by gluing Finetrax code 40 track directly to the sleepers adjacent to the existing rails (sorry!)
I tried to loosely stick to protocol by keeping the "live" track innermost within the bounds of the station, but on the curved sections the third rail is broken purely for visual interest (apologies again!)
Disaster struck after ballasting, the track was tested with loco's - and all was fine. However, when
With eight tracks on the traverser, and space for a ninth, the potential for a wide range of combinations of rolling-stock and loco's is great.
The traversing tracks match the length of those of the station platforms on the scenic side of the layout (about four coaches plus a Loco.) However, a longer rake could easily be made by joining additional coaches from the traverser to the rear of an existing one. Allowing for yet more variety of rail traffic.
Operating the layout is simple
Magnetic electrical connectors are fitted through small holes drilled in the base section of the traverser, these holes were marked when the first two track sections were fitted. There are two magnetic terminals for each corresponding section of layout track, in this case four in total. Cork board adds cushioning support. From the mains powered controller, the single positive and negative DC wires are split into two pairs and connected to an on/off toggle switch each. From each switch they are
The eight straight track lengths on the traverser each have a small section of plastic removed from between the sleepers nearest the centre-end of both rails (+ and -). The track was laid where it was to be fixed, and the two points where the plastic was removed were marked in pencil on the traverser deck. A hole was then drilled into the traverser board (the drill tip was intentionally allowed to mark the board underneath for the first two track sections.) A small bolt was then inserted into
The traverser deck is 12mm ply mounted on a pair of heavy-duty drawer runners attached to a base, also of 12mm ply. The deck is slightly smaller widthways than its base to enable smooth movement. There are two sections of beading fixed to the inner sides immediately abutting the base-section, these keep the traverser deck at a consistent level along its depth. Also, an adjustable height governer is mounted at the very front of each side, level with the end points of the fixed track sections.
I wanted to build a small double oval layout and I wanted it to have a modest two platform station that would see a variety of loco's and rolling-stock stopping or passing through. I also wanted it to be a fairly cheap build, quick to make and easy to use... This is what I came up with, a traverser. It does away with the need for multiple sets of points, the wiring of points and the banks of switches and motors required to control all those points (not to mention the hefty initial cost!) T
