So my lockdown experience: staying at home mostly for self protection has not resulted in a huge acceleration in layout development as a few 'little' main house projects have taken precedence. But in my time off from that I've switched from rolling stock projects to trying to advance the state of those old baseboards that came from my previous house (all of three years ago) to have a more realistic environment for that rolling stock when it does really roll so I can, wonder of wonders, do some realistic operation, not just test run stock back and forth as at present.

All of the baseboard construction has so far been designed to facilitate the realistic operation of my invented station, a terminus in which trains will terminate, be run round or go straight out again in what is called a 'turn over' (loco backs on at rear of newly arrived train to take it straight back out again, e.g. like the 'Pines being reversed at Bath Green Park).  Trains that are run round may either go straight back out, i.e. reversed with the same loco on a through working, or be shunted into a carriage siding for a later working ...

to make all this work in model form, and understanding that I hope to have an overall roof at the terminal end means I need some form of remote uncoupling, and I chose to use the Dingham system many years ago.  Slightly fewer years ago I installed uncoupling electro magnets at the terminal end, and wired in a control panel with isolating switches for the terminal end so arriving locos could uncouple and be isolated as their train was taken out by another loco.  However, the station throat end was untouched.  So this week's project has been dealing with the station throat end, installing uncoupling electro magnets an engine's length back from the eventual starting signal location so stock can be shunted in and then left in position  for another loco to run in and couple up to take it away, or in the case of the centre siding stock can be uncoupled from the loco as it runs in, and can be left behind for a later working.

So here are a couple of under baseboard pictures showing the electro magnets (far right) and some not too pretty wiring to a control panel at the station throat end which will also have the 'levers' for the platform end starting signals.  Two more magnets need to go in and a little circuit with an LED to show when an uncoupler is active ... (If you need orientation with the top then its in the header photo and the previous blog entry)

Station throat end is to the right and three bolt ends of the Dingham electro magnets can be seen, and newly created control panel just to the top left of them.  The control panel has some slide switches installed to control the not yet built starting signals, but at least the wiring is in place to switch track power according to the signal aspect ...

And now a close up view .... the uncoupler wiring is using the solder tag boards, 12V DC is supplied from the other half of the station boards to the left.  since the photo was taken  I've connected the two solder tag boards so there now is a circuit from the push buttons on the control panel to the electro magnets!

more to follow!