We gonna rock down to Electric Avenue like Eddie Grant and get serious about track control and

electrics! At this point in time I am preparing a track mimic panel with point control based on the actual Garsdale signal box lever frame control. The AnyRail reduced track plan will be printed onto a plastic sheet, then fitted out and wired into the control box.

I’ve tested my servo point motor system which is essentially like a solenoid one but without a CDU. The servos will be finally controlled by MegaPoint when my finances allow but in the meantime to operate the servos I’m using a modified CCPM solenoid tester to drive them.

Each servo combination is to be connected to the control panel via a length of 6 core standard alarm cable between any point servo with its LED switch to the corresponding panel switch so finding any potential faults should be easy.

A Momentary On - Off - Momentary On DPDT switch cuts the power to the servo once the point direction is confirmed and returned to its off position. This serves two purposes in as much as keeping the point at the last set position when shutting off the layout power and removes any possible servo ‘hum’ transmitting through the baseboard. The servo also operates two SPDT switches, one is for the LED’s and the other switches electrofrog polarity.

Once the control box is completed my plan is to wire the points of each module baseboard to the panel as I complete them.

I am still heavily involved wiring up yet another track modification to the Greater Waikato Railway Modellers Down line loop and train exchange yard which is a entry only fiddle yard really that complements our Mainline station shunting yards but is mainly concerned with our Mainline circuit display operation rather than our figure eight Great Western Railway country circuit.