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About this blog

Started in 2004, this layout was originally an end to end with a run-round loop and a bay platform. It now forms part of double track layout. I built it in the early days when I hadn't really taken into account moving it about so its 2m long and about 630mm wide. However it has been moved about 5 times from house to house. It started as an analog layout and then was converted to DCC, then lots of wires for everything were added but in 2020 I discovered MERG and CBUS so its be re-wired again which has simplfied the underboard somewhat. The original layout consists of baseboard 1. But following another move I am now adding about 12 new baseboards to it plus a rear upper deck

 

Layout is in an insulated loft ontop of kitchen base units for storage.

 

Its not prototypical but wouldn't look out of place for a somewhere place for somewhere in the GWR / Midland territory. The station on baseboard 1 does have Great Central influences as is scratchbuilt. I like running GWR/ LMS / LNER and BR Standard steam locomotives, plus early diesels so its the early 1960s on the lower deck. The top deck is intended to be 1960s to 1990s but will retain semaphore signalling. It could also be a double track heritage railway......

Entries in this blog

General

A Small TMD - Part 5

Work progressing on the front scenic module with the cabin now added, currently making the Palisade fence.    Fuel point off board under construction.   Currently making a CANPAN for controlling the lcb switches at this end.   Lights fitted in shed but non operational at present.   Yard lighting Testing in progress.     
MattB

MattB in General

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Control Panels

Building the Control Panel - Part 4

Quite a while ago I managed to break something with the wiring on the control panel that caused a glitch on the programming for all the switches so I had the TM7 board 'temporally' on the CANPAN. Several months later and several more servos and relays now online and I realised that I had to reluctantly return to the control panel and try and figure out what had gone wrong.    Disconnected the LED wiring from the circuit board (no change) Fiddled with some switches and and fou
MattB

MattB in Control Panels

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General

A small TMD - Part 4

I finished construction of the scale scenes diesel depot, now down to a single road, clearances are a little tight (due to a central heating valve) so large locos can't fit but small ones can.   I swapped the old container crane to the other end and the fuelling siding will now be alongside the tanks but I need to add pipes at some point to the tankers siding.   Now working on a west hill wagon works test facility. Its going in the siding alongside the shed on a separate modu
MattB

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Layout Wiring

A return to the lower deck - part 3

First semaphore signal installed and working.   2x front crossover points all wired up and working, have installed microswitches for frog polarity.   Now I know the wiring configuration the rest should be straight forward enough although I need to build a daughter board for the CANMIO to enable 16 outputs for the servos.   When I took the photo of the signal I had power to it but had wired the relay up wrong so that it wasn't moving but it is now. - (Its a CANPAN, t
MattB

MattB in Layout Wiring

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General

A return to the lower deck - Part 2

Continuing work on this part of the project over the May Day weekend. 2 servos now installed in the shed area (merg servo vertical mounts) and programmed. Eventually I will programme them to run off one switch as they are a crossover but still testing them out and need to add the polarity wiring so keeping them separate.   I think I need a ground signal here prior to the catchpoint (on the shed side) ( Also a signal with a shunt signal on the other side facing toward the shed. I n
MattB

MattB in General

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General

A return to the lower deck - Part 1

With the top deck tmd nicely underway I decided that it was time to return to the lower deck. I had already started work on it by repainting the front to a dark green and painting the rear to a matt sky (white colour)and adding viaduct arches to give the effect that the top deck is on a bridge rather than flying in the air.   I took a critical look at the existing track layout on Baseboard 1 and decided that it wasn't quite right and that the crossovers were located in the wrong place
MattB

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General

A Small TMD - Part 3

Finished the rear module with some more scenery and walls Spray painted primer onto the ratio container crane that I have had in storage, unfortunately I have lost some of the parts during the house move so its going to be a 'condemned' structure' unless I can fix it  so I have started dry brushing streaks of rust and grime onto this. This will be an ongoing project that I will add to over time. Technically it should be placed a bit further to the right but I haven't the space available due
MattB

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General

A small TMD - Part 2

Been working hard on this part of the layout.   Signal box - I have built the scale scenes brick signal box. I wanted a 1930s style design. This is placed on its own scenic module which is a 3mm piece of mdf (kitchen unit back). Between the module and the cork track is a concrete duct run that I am constructing to run the length of top deck layout but starting it here since ive never used it before. Basic scenery of scatters is now laid on this module   Engine shed - I have h
MattB

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Electronics

Building the Control Panel - Part 3

A big pause on all model railway projects for several months due to 'life'. Actually I only managed to build 1 model over 3 months!   But in February I tried to remember where I had got to with the control panel. Back in October I managed to get the switches working and figured out how I was supposed to wire it all up. Essentially its a matrix on a grid where there are 12 switches but 4 switches switch on the other 8. So 4 switches are in on / off mode and the 8 are in on/off/on mode w
MattB

MattB in Electronics

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General

A small TMD - Part 1

I have this short end of baseboard on the top deck outside the main loop that after a bit of playing around with track I have decided will work as a small TMD. I haven't built one of these before. The thing is I wouldn't mind having a bit of modern lighting on this end, plus its next to the bench so good as a test track for analog models.    I am building this somewhat on the cheap, Track, wiring, point control, electronics is from my spares, models the same. Might use scale scene
MattB

MattB in General

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Electronics

Building the Control Panel - Part 2

Following completion of the woodwork a few months ago I have recently re-started the control panel project as the number of switches on the temporary board is steadily increasing.   First I installed my CANUSB and CANPAN / TM7 temporary board inside the left hand panel and its been like that for a few months while I pondered where to go next with it and extended the CBUS around the layout.   I have now cut the woodwork (3mm ply) and screwed / bolted to a couple of hinges for
MattB

MattB in Electronics

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Scenery

Scenic Corners

Been working on two of my corners that are on the top deck and close under the house roof.   A few years back I built this corner on a previous layout. I couldn't find a way to incorporate that part of the layout in the new layout so decided to chop off the corner and re-use it here. However it wasn't quite big enough so I attached it to a foamboard base and extended it out the back and made a grassy / vegetation covered slope on the front.   The pump house is the ratio one b
MattB

MattB in Scenery

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General

Relays and Servos

For the last few weeks I have spent time working on installing more servo motors, laying more track, extending the top deck of the baseboard in the corner (a mis measurement when cutting it meant I couldn't fit the inner radius in) and starting to install the sections using relay switches.   With the servos I am experimenting with a different type of mount, I found a type on Ebay which is just a L shape metal piece of angle with some holes and these are proving to be far better than th
MattB

MattB in General

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Trackwork

Points and Track

I have started working on the trackwork on the top deck. I had already laid track 1 which is at the rear and added in the points ready for the rest of the trackwork on this deck. I have now extended track 2 to a loop and started work on track 3   The idea of this deck is for it not to be prototypical but to be more of a tail chaser with a heritage line bolted onto the front of it. That way I can run items that are of a different era (and my older Lima stock) and I hope the height diffe
MattB

MattB in Trackwork

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General

1 year on.

Success! I have a train running in a circuit around the room.    Bit of tweaking to do, following an hours operation, one of the rails on baseboard 13 isn't seated correctly in the sleeper, so will have to get that sorted to prevent potential derailments and i somehow wired the bus up wrong when i brought the wires in from behind baseboard 1. Easy fix (hopefully) to do in next session.   These photos are taken on the 18th May 2021 and today so you can see how much progress i
MattB

MattB in General

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Baseboards

Lift out bridge for access walkway - Part 1

I decided that this was likely to be the most difficult element of the baseboard build. I trawled the internet and youtube looking for ideas for how to construct these bridges as from previous experience I knew the following   They have to be rock solid and not move horizontally or vertically once in position Ideally they need contact connections without having to plug something in separately. They have to meet the connecting baseboards square on and not on an angle
MattB

MattB in Baseboards

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Baseboards

Building the Control Panel - Part 1

The woodwork marathon goes on...   While I am a roll I decided to build the control panel. I have never built a full control panel before that is designed to hold all the loco control and switching systems. First I measured the size of my controllers (3 of them) and then I physically walked round the area and decided how far I wanted the panel to stick out into the room. I have made it so that in future if I want to get a few more drawers they won't be impeeded by the support legs, als
MattB

MattB in Baseboards

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Baseboards

The last baseboard

So I see we have lost all the images from the recent server problem. Oh well mine weren't that interesting just lots of wood frame and plywood!   Nearly finished the 3 month marathon of building baseboards and other woodwork and getting it installed. I have now completed 14 baseboards and 15 top decks. Still to do are two 650mm long removable bridge sections and the main 1.2m long (x200mm wide)  control panel. I was rather pleased that after all the builds around the room I was only ab
MattB

MattB in Baseboards

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Baseboards

Double decker baseboards

Well I am still at building base board after baseboard. Work has progressed on baseboards 10,11,13 and 14. So I am nearly there. Baseboard 12 - I am not entirely sure what to do with it yet and it won't affect the main running of the layout so I am probably going to leave it for a while before constructing it.   I am now at the more complicated end of the loft where I have to build the final corner which includes a removable bridge piece of the access walkway as well as being on a doub
MattB

MattB in Baseboards

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General

Back to the LCB (part 4) - Point motor control

(Edit - 24-02-22 I wrote this  blog post this on the morning of the day that my Mum passed away - Mum was very supportive of all my railway interests of model railways and volunteering I have literally just come back to my open computer and this was still on the screen)   I only discovered about a year ago that its possible to use servo motors for controlling points.  Several advantages:   Less power draw than solenoids Ability to slide blade over rather than a
MattB

MattB in General

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Baseboards

Baseboards (Part 6)

So I have worked out how many baseboards I am going to need altogether = 15. With an additional number of sections to complete the top deck. So far I have 9 baseboards constructed with the same number for the top deck.   At some point I will have to get down to a DIY store and get some more 9mm ply (3x 1.2m x 1.4m or thereabouts) as I have almost run out and also need about 25m of 45mm x 20mm of softwood for the frames.   So the next plan is to start working anticlockwise and
MattB

MattB in Baseboards

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General

Back to the LCB (part 3)

I am about 2 baseboard modules away from the first turnout on the top deck of the layout. I want to use servo motors to power them and had purchased a CANMIO from MERG which I was yet to build up and figure out how it worked.   I decided to therefore spend several afternoons in the Christmas / New Year Holiday setting myself the task of building it and programming it.   Got it all built and tested no problem and then had an issue with the installed firmware so installed a dif
MattB

MattB in General

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Baseboards

Baseboards (again)

So I had to have a think about the priorities.   Priority No1 is get (at least 1) train running around the room.  Priority No 2 is get a 2nd train running around the room   In order to do priority No 1, I need to knuckle down and build base boards. So for the moment all work on wiring, electronics and other railway modelling projects is paused and the main thrust of action is to get the lower deck baseboards and the top deck constructed. As its at the back the top deck (
MattB

MattB in Baseboards

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General

Ideas for Board 2

So my last post I said I was going to put in the big factory. Unfortunately I tested it and it won't fit in so I scrapped that idea.    Baseboard building is temporally paused this month due to other house projects in progress. Hope to restart that in the next couple of weeks so I can push on with working on the lower deck trackplan.   Lots of Code 75 track arrived from Rails. Tested this and its going to be great!   The new plan for board 2 is to install a triangul
MattB

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General

Brimming with ideas

This is what happens when you have no model railway for 2 years....   So yesterday I was pondering about double slips and how I wanted them to be electrofrog and I was thinking well why don't I change the layout to code 75 and then I found a transition piece for code 100 to code 75 which I have never seen before. So I am now planning to use Code 75 for the rest of the layout on the bottom deck and code 100 for the top deck. Most of my bottom deck dcc locos are Bachmann with smaller rim
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MattB in General

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