ISW

Although, back in 1999 (according to Google Earth) said DMU was not stabled. The siding was still very long though. Ian

Drew, Just be aware that you need to allow for the gradients to get over the Mainlines; the red lines as marked up below. Me thinks you 'might' need to 'raise' the junction at the back of the depot to make it work. Ian

Andi, I hadn't, but thanks for the idea. There happens to be sign maker not far from me, so maybe I need to drop by their place to check about 'off cuts'. Ian

As this is your first layout, I'd recommend a 'test plank' so you can practice all the key elements, and make all your mistakes on that instead of your actual layout. Here's the one I built before I started on my layout. Track view: Underside view: It's nothing complicated, but did teach me how to join baseboards, wire up turnouts (Code-100) for DCC, make my own point motor assemblies, and practice my plans for wiring using PCB connectors. There were many lessons learnt that I was able to correct / avoid on the actual layout. Ian

Drew, I'm a bit of a cheapskate, so I went with servos and a microswitch assembled into a self made bracket (heavily influenced by the original MegaPoints design). This is the design: And here is one installed under one of my baseboards: Obviously I've working on 00-gauge, but I can't see why it would not work in n-gauge. It's major advantages are availability of the parts (all off-the-shelf) and overall price. The whole thing is less than £10 for each assembly. Ian

Ian, There has to be a 'back' or 'end' span between the outermost piers and the adjacent embankments. Length would vary depending on the topography but not very long. It would be supported on the embankment by a small retaining wall. Ian

Good point. However, since my options are either self-sticky labels or paper with manually applied spray adhesive, I think I'm stuffed either way ... I have tested the stickiness of the labels, and it is quite good. I do have a few things in my favour. The size of the label when cut for glazing will be quite substantial (50x30mm), and it will be applied on top of of the flat clear plastic so gravity will be on my side, for once. Ian

Ian, I was always under the impression that there is a cross-member between the 2 outside trusses located at the base of each vertical member of the truss (and at each end). There is also generally some horizontal diagonal members between these cross-members to increase the stiffness. For example, see: http://www.mvlbridges.co.uk/pony-truss-girder-bridge.html and https://www.instructables.com/How-to-Design-a-Basic-Truss-Bridge-With-Fusion-360/ Ian

Sticky Labels With the platform staircase finished [1], thoughts are turning to the platform canopy. [1] - not really, but it'll have to do for the time being! The canopy is really large and will need several duplicated sections. It's a glazed canopy, so I'll be using clear plastic from old Peco turnout packaging. On my 'test' sample, I used my Cricut cutter to cut out some white paper for the glazing bars, and then glued these on with spray adhesive. Refer to: I've seen may other people using sticky labels for this purpose (and window glazing in general) so maybe I should be considering this method instead. While browsing at a local car boot last weekend I come across a seller (booter?) with some old rolls of sticky labels, so I bought one. I 'think' it'll last a lifetime (and probably longer) ...: Bit of a bargain at £1. The next trick will be to try some in the Cricut to see how/if it can cut out window glazing reliably and accurately. Ian

Does that mean that 'full contact' is necessary, or will the 'fumes' also be enough to life the paint? I ask because the former means you can't reuse the paint stripper (I'm guessing 'filtering' is not possible), whereas the later means that, maybe, you can. Ian

Drew, A couple of comments, as marked up on your layout plan: Additionally, have you checked / verified that there is sufficient space (track length) either side of the 2 overbridges to allow for a suitable gradient? Yes, I recognise that the addition of the crossover at the 'back' depot connection makes this issue a little harder ... Ian

Getting Some Trains Moving again While I've been faffing about with the platform staircase, I've not been running any trains whatsoever. I don't think I've moved anything under it's own power for about 6-months. So, when I came to move something, a few problems reared their ugly heads. Firstly, one of my MegaPoints 12servo boards started acting up. After a bit of troubleshooting (disconnecting power & MegaPoints networks between baseboards) I determined the particular one that was 'crashing' the Lower Level MegaPoints system. It's no surprise that it's the first one I ever installed on the layout! I tried the time-tested method of crawling under the baseboard, lying on my back, and unplugged the servos to see if one was causing a problem. After a while I'd found a culprit, but the act of unplugging had dislodged some wires from a 3-way socket. Did I mention this was my first servo board installation ... There was no way I was going to be able to effect repairs working under the baseboard. This is where having separate baseboards comes in really handy. I disconnected the jumper cable between the baseboards, removed the M8 bolts, and pulled out the baseboard: It's about 5-years since this baseboard has been out-of-the-layout. Anyway, it was swiftly turned over to allow 'repairs' to be conducted: I then made up an extra-long baseboard jumper cable to allow me to power up and test the MegaPoints 12servo, which worked perfectly once again. It was then just a matter of putting the baseboard back into the layout, reinstalling the bolts and re-connecting the baseboard jumper cables. Secondly, any attempt an running trains resulted in a lot of stuttering due to loss of power. A thorough clean of all the rails was the order of the day. I have @61656 to thank for the tip of using white spirit (I'd be previously using IPA), which went very well, apart from the smell that'll take a while to dissipate. Finally, I could run some trains ... Ian

Platform Staircase - Complete, although not perfect Having left the red paint to dry on the staircase, it's obvious that the 'wavy' staircase steps are not going to straighten themselves. Ah well, will just have to live with it; until I can think of a good 'repair' solution. In the meantime, the staircase has been plonked on the platform (it will need to be 'sunk' into the surface in due course). I moved a few trains [1] in the station to take a photo: Getting there, slowly. [1] - moving a few trains was a task in itself. I've not run any trains for months! Ian

Not had to do this myself (I'm only using Code-100), but would the following method work? Using a dremel cutting disk, slice horizontally through the web of the 'larger' rail section for a length of ~7mm. Place the rail upsidedown on a solid base (steel ...) and gently hammer on the foot of the rail to close up the gap in the rail web. In theory (?) if the width of the cut in the rail web was correctly calculated, the 'larger' rail should now be the same height as the 'smaller' rail, and normal fishplates should work (the rail foot side may need filing down). Soldering up the fishplates afterwards would then finalise a permanent 'rail adapter'. Indeed, you could make up short lengths into 'adapters' that can then be fishplated between the 2 rail sizes. Ian

I'd be downloading all of them and saving them in their own 'Lowestoft' folder for several reasons. Offline browsing and backup come to mind ... Ian