chaz Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 Help is on the way. ETA 1015Z. Thanks Chris, but no problem - will continue drilling a 0.6mm pilot hole into the ply'. The only downside is that its vital not to allow the tie to move, if it does the chances of getting the pilot holes in line again are small..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted January 29, 2014 Author Share Posted January 29, 2014 I've finished laying the track in the staging area and most of it is wired. A couple of alignments need adjusting at the board joins but I am looking forward to moving to stage 2 - the first scenic section. here progress will be slower as I will be hand laying track with rail spiked to wooden ties. From the left.... the back line will be used as a loco release for both the main line and the branch - so the spur continuing towards the camera can be used to store locos tracks 2 & 3 are staging tracks for the main line tracks 4 & 5 are staging tracks for the branch the main line will start at the toe-end of the three-way switch, the branch track curves away to the right at the far end of the yard of course there is some flexibility - track 4 can be used for main line trains if needed In the photo above the six cars and a caboose are standing on the front branch track. As this is a bit close to the edge of the boards I will add a protective strip to prevent any derailments from taking the long drop. Chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 (edited) When I borrowed the Lenz DCC system from my home layout to install it on Dock Green I put in an open top box with a set of sockets along the front to connect it up. This means, of course, that it's just as easy to borrow it back to get the FVRR working. In the photo above you can see the DCC box sitting on the FVRR staging. I fitted 3 different sockets so that it is impossible to connect it up the wrong way. The next photo shows the box installed on a shelf under the staging area. The two plugs with blue/brown connections are the DCC bus connections. They plug into the underside of the board that has been removed for the photo. The mains switch attached to the support leg (bottom right of the picture) switches the mains supply to the transformer which supplies the system with 15V AC. When Dock Green is off to a show the three plugs will be detached and the box slid off the shelf, to be reinstalled under that layout. I couldn't resist testing the system with my (unfinished) Forney conversion, the only loco with sound at the moment. "Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding - WHOOOOOHOO!" As well as paint, lettering and numbers (and coal!) the loco needs a little programming to tame its response to the throttle. Still it was fun driving it up and down the staging track and an encouragement to get on with the next stage - the scenic curve round and onto the girder bridge. Chaz Edited February 4, 2014 by chaz 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 5, 2014 Author Share Posted February 5, 2014 (edited) OOOPS - caught out! (You know you should ALWAYS read the instructions first.) Having had a play tested the staging with my Forney to 2-4-0 conversion I thought I would give another loco a spin. Just to check the track joints you understand. Some time ago I bought a pair of secondhand Broadway C16 2-8-0s. These come factory fitted with sound so were the natural choice for another play some further testing. Putting each one of them in turn on the track I was rewarded with sound but no movement. Ziltch. Nothing I did, including some quite naughty words, had any effect. Thinking about what might be up I did consider that maybe one of the connecting wires between engine and tender might be faulty, but on both models? Unlikely. OK, I thought let's at least try each function button in turn and find out what noises they make. Loved F1 - the bell and F2 - the whistle. F9 appeared to do nothing but - hang on a minute, now they are moving! On checking the maker's website for a manual to download it turns out that F9 disables the loco to stop it moving if you select it by mistake. I suppose that's useful if you have a large layout with lots of areas out of sight. It certainly caught me out. Chaz Edited February 5, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 PROBLEM! I made up and installed a Peco On30 turntable in the staging area of my layout but was not very happy with it. However carefully I lined it up it seemed to have a mind of its own. Just taking my hand away or a loco moving on to it would move it slightly off line with a derailment the result. I wasn't very happy with the retaining collar on the bottom end of the centre spindle either. I was seriously considering building a stepper motor drive for it as I way of solving the problem but this seemed a bit over the top. SOLUTION! I cut a couple of rectangles of lead sheet and fixed these between the girders to the underside of the deck with self-tapping screws. There's enough plastic directly below the rails to allow this but the screws need to be short - if they are too long and touch the rails the lead will produce a permanent short-circuit. This solved the problem with the retaining collar, with the deck weighing considerably more it can be discarded. I also cut two pieces of packaging grade foam which are a push fit between girder ends. With one at each end pressing gently against the well there is no tendency for the table to move out of position. Any disadvantages? Well my table squeeks a bit as I rotate it, so if I were to paint the inside of the well this might well mark over time. As my turntable is in the staging area I won't be painting it. The foam pads are virtually invisible when the deck is in place. Chaz 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 8, 2014 Author Share Posted February 8, 2014 Try rubbing some furniture polish wax on the well and spread it around with a cloth. It works for sticking curtain rails and stiff drawers. But be sparing, too much and you will defeat the purpose of the sponge and it may end up like the one at Hawes Junction! A good idea Sir. May give it a try later. Incidentally, I doubt that they used furniture polish at Hawes Junction..... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Two changes to report on the staging. Firstly I fastened a plywood strip to the front edge. As I mentioned above the front track is rather close to the edge and a careless sleeve might well derail something and send it on to the floor. I also fitted a DPCO switch to the front track on baseboard #3. This connects the track either to the DCC bus or to the programming output of the Lenz system. I had been lifting locos off the staging tracks and railing them on a piece of loose Peco Streamline powered with croc' clip leads. If, as is usual, you want to make several adjustments with test runs in between you will quickly tire of lifting off and re-railing. The passenger cars are due for a repaint when I can decide what colour to adopt for the FVRR's stock. The Bachmann grey/green is not very attractive. It will probably be either a better shade of green or a deep crimson lake. WTS Chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) The next frame is almost ready to be installed. This is the one that will have a curve through the trees and on to a girder bridge over a river and as it will have different levels of scenic treatment above and below the trackbed it will be dropped 6 inches and be an open framwork - the trackbed supported on risers off the cross members. I have a fairly clear idea how I want this first scenic section to look, however to clarify details I thought it useful to make up a macquette in card. The model is scaled 1:5. It's a quick job made from mounting board offcuts bought in a cheap "goody bag" from a local picture framer and some balsa square section. The look I am after is a line running through wooded slopes, with the trains appearing and disappearing behind trees. The area over the tunnel will not be flat but the headroom will be restricted by the slope of the ceiling so the detail there is best sorted once the real scenery is underway. The back view reveals the hidden spur from the staging. It may be necessary to make part of the sceney removeable in case of derailments. The rectangular "gap" in the foreground of the above photo will be there to fit around a chimney that intrudes into the space. The sloping edge to the LH top of the curved backscene follows the slope of the ceiling. Above is a near vertical view. I haven't put any ground in between the track and the backscene but the intention here is to make it look as though the river bends round out of sight so there is no need to try and magic it into the backscene. The backscene itself will be painted to suggest wooded slopes and there will be lots of full trees and half-relief trees to break it up so that the flat surface will only be glimpsed here and there. I am going to need to get good at making trees. Chaz Edited February 12, 2014 by chaz 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Q Anyone have any thoughts on the best material to use to make the curved backscenes? Something stiff enough not to need too much supporting timberwork but flexible enough to curve. And it would obviously be good if it is white and ready to take acrylic paint. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emt_911 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Chaz Have you thought about white faced hardboard? Duncan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 12, 2014 Author Share Posted February 12, 2014 Chaz Have you thought about white faced hardboard? Duncan That might well serve, Duncan. Is it sufficiently flexible do you think? I'm pretty certain it will take acrylic paint, if not I could use matte enamels. I will probably paint the distant skyline with an airbrush and torn paper stencils to make tree shapes. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
emt_911 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 It's not something that I've used, but I have seen it used on several threads on here. There have been some spectacular results. Duncan Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr2 Posted February 12, 2014 Share Posted February 12, 2014 Q Anyone have any thoughts on the best material to use to make the curved backscenes? Something stiff enough not to need too much supporting timberwork but flexible enough to curve. And it would obviously be good if it is white and ready to take acrylic paint. Chaz Bendy MDF? I've not used it, but it's recommended by a lot of top layout builders. http://www.bendymdf.co.uk/ Our local B&Q & Wickes stock it Keith PS - I really like your mock up! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 13, 2014 Author Share Posted February 13, 2014 Bendy MDF? I've not used it, but it's recommended by a lot of top layout builders. http://www.bendymdf.co.uk/ Our local B&Q & Wickes stock it Keith PS - I really like your mock up! Have looked at the link you posted and I like the idea of laminating two layers together to get a rigid curve. Might well be the way to go although I will need to think about a former. Thanks for the comment about the mock-up. I certainly enjoyed making it and was pleased with the result. However I was left wishing that it was going to be as easy to make the 1:48 trees as it was making these paper concoctions. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 14, 2014 Author Share Posted February 14, 2014 (edited) Baseboard #5 fixed in place, although it only requires the removal of three screws and it can lifted out to be worked on. In the photo above I have a piece of timber with a centre mark punched in its end clamped in the Workmate supporting a crude trammel compass. I made this from a length of electrical trunking with a pencil and a large nail pushed through holes two feet (this is an American layout!) apart. Moving the Workmate around allows the centre to be adjusted and the compass can then be used to draw a centre line for the track on the roadbed. Different radii can be got by moving either the pencil or the nail to a different position in the beam. Here I have laid the trammel on its side to use it as a long rule so that I can mark the end of the roadbed at the baseboard joint. I want the join in the roadbed from one baseboard to the next to be at right angles to the track centre line. The last photo shows the next section of curved roadbed propped up on a temporary single riser. There will be a very short straight section between the end of the curve and the abuttment for the gider bridge. I will put a plywood surface on top of the open frame at the LH end to support both the abuttments and the river, which I am probably going to model as a dry bed. Lots of bolders and stones with just hints of water and maybe a few pools here and there. As I sit typing this the wind outside sounds pretty violent and it's raining - so no change there..... Chaz Edited February 14, 2014 by chaz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 17, 2014 Author Share Posted February 17, 2014 (edited) Not very exciting but... Temporary staging for the "other end" of the layout. The idea is that as each section is built and its track laid this staging section will be hooked up to the end. it will allow me to run a few trains although obviously the scope will be limited. The section at the far end is a loco cassette. This seemed to me to be the easiest way to arrange for a loco to be turned, changed or moved to the other track. It is connected up with rail-joiners - not ideal but a simple arrangement for something temporary. Edited February 17, 2014 by chaz 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 One small snag I discovered with my quicky loco cassette... The soldered-on rail joiners are a snug fit when the cassette is pushed on to a track (good thing as I hope to avoid the need for any wiring to the casstte) but this tends to to push the cassette rails through the Peco chairs (bad thing).... So I soldered each rail to a small brass screw half way along as an anchor. Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
trisonic Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 Chaz, you're giving me some great ideas. Many thanks! Best, Pete. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr2 Posted February 18, 2014 Share Posted February 18, 2014 I agree with Pete, you just solved my 'simple way to electrify a cassette' conundrum!! Thanks also Keith Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 I agree with Pete, you just solved my 'simple way to electrify a cassette' conundrum!! Thanks also Keith Thanks Keith. If it were a long term device I probably wouldn't want to rely on rail joiners to conduct track power but this staging is temporary. However thinking about the rail joiners they will have something of a self-cleaning action as they are slid on and off - provided they are reasonably snug. They don't want to be too tight - if they are there is a good chance of derailing a loco when too much force is needed to get the joint to separate. I soldered the joiners to the cassette rails to stop them coming adrift when the cassette is slid away and this will make good electrical contact on that part of the joint. On my BR 7mm layout, Dock Green, the cassettes are aligned and electrically connected with bulldog clips. Look at page 1 on.... http://www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/58132-dock-green/ Chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 (edited) Decision time... So far all the baseboards are portable. To remove any of the four staging sections I only need remove two screws (conveniently on the front) and unplug the connecting wires (underneath but not too much of a reach) - the baseboards can be lifted out. Now that I am about to start making boards with hand-laid track and scenery it will be a bit more of a challenge to make them portable. Hiding baseboard joins when they cut across scenery is trickier. I think I might be using quite a number of small trees and stategically positioned bushes. I have been giving some thought to possibly exibiting parts of the FVRR in the future but I can't immediately see how it might be configured. I do know that exhibition managers prefer straight layouts but the FVRR is going to have rather a lot of corners. It might be necessary to make short transition pieces to link bits together. Planning needed. Edited February 18, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) Progress on the FVRR is a little restricted by the need to get a few jobs done on the stock for Dock Green ahead of the Basingstoke show in two weeks time however.... Yesterday I put in the section of curved roadbed on baseboard #5 that will lead to the girder bridge. This is supported on plywood risers six inches above the frame. There will be plenty of space under the bridge for the river and the chance for some steep, wooded slopes. That odd large hole in the pine block gives me access to the fixing screw on baseboard #4. The second photo shows a large piece of lining paper which I will use to plan the shape of the river bed (which will need a shaped piece of ply' as a base) and to work out the position of the abuttments for the bridge. Strictly speaking I only need a flat base where the river will be. The girder bridge is placed to allow the position and angle of the road bed each side to be plotted, prior to cutting the ply base. There would be no advantage to a ply base on the RH end of this board as it will be covered in card formers and web strips to create the slopes. Q I am about to get some material for the track, which will have code 82 rail spiked to timber ties. I have a copy of the Kalmbach book "Trackwork and Lineside Detail" in which the chapter on hand-laid track recommends balsa for ties. I'm not sure I like the idea of balsa which I think might prove a bit too soft and not therefore able to accurately support the rail when it is spiked. I am considering buying some lime in sheet form instead. I have a Proxxon circular saw which will certainly be able to strip this up to the rquired width. Anybody got any thoughts on this, or better still experience of building hand-laid track? Chaz Edited February 22, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 (edited) Taking the lining paper drawing I put it on top of an offcut of MDF which I decided to use, saving the more valuable plywood for more frames. By cutting small squares in the paper at each end of the pencil lines I was able to mark up the boards and then complete by "joining the dots". This left the drawing intact so I can use it later (to sort out the size and shape of the abuttments etc) Then it was a straightforward cutting job with a jigsaw.... I have been generous with the size of this base. If it turns out to be far too large it can always be trimmed later. It's readily apparent just how narrow 16 inches is. I'm going to need a lot of closely packed trees to get this scene to work convincingly. Chaz Edited February 22, 2014 by chaz 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 25, 2014 Author Share Posted February 25, 2014 (edited) I bought a sheet of 3.2mm balsa (well that's eighth of an inch - so six inches in 1:48) to do a test piece of hand-laid track with balsa ties. This is my tie spacing jig in action. I don't mind if the spacing or alignment isn't spot on - the FVRR is NG after all. And here's the result ready for ballast and the rail to be spiked. The ties were stained with well-diluted artist's acrylics which I find more reliable and economical than some modeller's acrylics. I like the small variations in colour which result from mixing tiny amounts of paint at a time. Chaz Edited February 25, 2014 by chaz Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
chaz Posted February 26, 2014 Author Share Posted February 26, 2014 The test piece... I painted round the ties with acrylic so any gaps in the ballast wouldn't show as bare plywood. The exact colour is not very important for this test. I used a couple of bits of scrap spar to keep the ballast from spreading too far. I used a soft mop paint brush to level out the ballast and soften the edges where they looked too straight and even. Once the whole section was ballasted I checked that none was higher than the top surface of the ties by sliding one of the spars over the tie tops. I damped it all over with a fine water spray and then used the dropper bottle to add a 50:50 mix of PVA and water. Once it has all dried I can spike some rail down to complete the test. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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