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Cowes to Newport IOW in 4mm scale

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Hidden loops control panel

Today I have been working on the control panel for the hidden section of the layout which is by far the biggest wiring task of the lot. And this is my third iteration, having been unsatisfied with my two previous attempts. The multipole connectors are the excellent "Ewe-Link 2" available from Elite Baseboards, with whom I have no association apart from being a very satisfied customer. These are easy to use although you may notice the sticky labels with numbers on which I printed to overcome the

ChrisG

ChrisG

Quiet but busy.................

I've been quiet for a while because although I've been very busy and productive on the layout, there's not much of photographic interest to show. I'm still wiring the hidden tracks, board by board, and testing them individually prior to reassembly. The loft is a complete mess, the floor strewn with layout wire offcuts.   A number of things had to be done for a second time. I'd made a hash of the control panel so built a new one, and also had problems with the wiring index which led me to come

ChrisG

ChrisG

Progress on the hidden loops

Photo showing progress as of tonight on the hidden loops (using Peco Streamline for expedience's sake). The tracks leading off to the right are the return loops representing the Sandown and Ryde lines. Each will hold two trains of the maximum length I have planned for (the equivalent of loco, four full length carriages and a 4 wheeled van). All trains will travel clockwise around the loops, with entry being controlled by a pair of crossovers allowing entry and access from either line out of Newp

ChrisG

ChrisG

Progress with wiring

Steady progress at the moment on wiring the hidden sections. The track is laid for the hidden return loops and the boards now dismantled with wiring starting in the farthest corner of the layout and gradually moving outwards, with a comprehensive wiring index being built as I go. In theory as the boards are completed they can be rejoined and when the final connection is made, the transformers plugged in and the trains working. We shall see - getting my head around the wiring of the IRDOTs was qu

ChrisG

ChrisG

Hidden loops under construction

From amidst the usual detritus of modelling, the hidden loops are emerging....... There are several cross baseboard track joints to be engineered in these parts. This will be the most intensive part of the construction for that reason, as well as the wiring.

ChrisG

ChrisG

Chipping a Terrier

I took the bull by the horns this morning in order to start experimenting with my ZTC DCC kit, and bought a secondhand Hornby Terrier from Alton Model Centre. I managed to shoehorn a decoder inelegantly into the cab. This involved removing the floor of the cab (in fact I removed more than was needed there is now a gap between the footplate and cabsides). There was some rewiring of the inside of the loco, but the job was comparatively easy. This chip only has four wires (which helps) but no doubt

ChrisG

ChrisG

Wiring the hidden loops

I'm busy wiring the hidden loops and staging sidings. This board has the most wiring of any because I am using electric turnout motors in the hidden sections, as well as infra-red detectors for automation, and a separate control panel for the hidden section which will hang off the Newport viaduct board. 10 turnouts, 8 infra-red detectors, spread over 7 separate boards, though most of them will have less wiring than in this picture. I'm keeping an index of connections and colours as I go, which f

ChrisG

ChrisG

Work begins............

I am starting work on the hidden loops which will lie behind Cowes and the line along the Medina. To do this I had to get a sighting shot on how Cowes would fit, which is what the photo shows. The track templates are generated by the Trax3 software. Behind are some Peco turnouts (the hidden section will be laid using Peco Streamline. Important things here were to see where the turnouts would be in relation to the baseboard frames (I'm using underslung Peco turnout motors on the hidden section) a

ChrisG

ChrisG

Baseboards installed

Giles and John from Elite Baseboards arrived with the boards and worked like Trojans in the sweltering heat. 29 degrees with the air conditioning unit on full blast! The boards are now installed for Cowes to Newport and brilliant they are too! Now it's up to me to get the track laid and wired up, make difficult decisions regarding analogue and DCC, etc. etc. Years of fun lie ahead!     Chris

ChrisG

ChrisG

Newport Scissors Crossing

Despite my silence, work is progressing. The last couple of weeks have been building trackwork. The layout has been designed using "Trax" which I bought some time ago when I found the intricacies of Templot beyond me and more than I needed for the level of realism to which I was aspiring. That's not knocking Templot at all, because it is clearly the Rolls Royce of track designing software. Trax I found quicker to use and it generates turnout templates. My aim has been to get far ahead with track

ChrisG

ChrisG

Revised trackplan

Been a bit quiet of late. The loft is ready. I have been assembling small shelving units to go under the baseboards and have moved all the railway "stuff" up from the garage into the loft. Still need to get a workbench and something to sit on up there. Baseboards are on order from Elite Baseboards whom I met at the Bristol show a few weeks ago. Installation is scheduled for late June/early July.   I made reasonable progress on the model of Newport Engine shed but got to the point where the ac

ChrisG

ChrisG

Newport Engine Shed

Here is a link to a photo of Newport shed. Can anyone confirm the construction. It looks like timber walls and corrugated iron roof to me. But I am uncertain how to replicate the look of the timber - specifically which Slater's, Evergreen or Southeastern Finecast sheet in 4mm scale will give the best reproduction?   http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/n/newport(iwc)/index27.shtml     Any help gratefully received!   Chris    

ChrisG

ChrisG

Loft update - day 3

This is the state of play after Day 3 in the loft - this photo is looking towards the site of Newport Station. The trusses in the foreground will come out, the roof now has supports leaning on other brick walls which will leave the central space clear. The hatch will have a drop down cover for operating sessions so we don't lose anyone in the abyss!   Taking stock today indicates that the finished size will be slightly larger than I had planned for, allowing a little bit of breathing space all

ChrisG

ChrisG

Cowes Footbridge

This is a lovely little model by York Modelmaking. Made from laser cut Rowmark which behaves pretty much like styrene sheet. This went together in a couple of hours.

ChrisG

ChrisG

Cowes Station Building

Until I can start on the layout itself I am now making progress on various structures for the layout, signals and turnouts. Here is the station building at Cowes looking suitably dilapidated.

ChrisG

ChrisG

Trackplan of the proposed layout

Here is the trackplan for the planned layout, designed using the Trax software developed by Geoff Geary. This produces the templates for constructing the turnouts too.......

ChrisG

ChrisG

Work starts

Work has started on converting my loft to take the planned model of the line from Cowes to Newport on the Isle of Wight in 4mm scale (OO gauge). This is scheduled to take about 3 weeks......

ChrisG

ChrisG

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