Ruston Posted March 1, 2019 Author Share Posted March 1, 2019 The electrics have been tested and now I just need to find my track gauge to be able to build the sections of track that are remaining. There's also one last bit of electrickery to install and that is the control for the bar signal. The other signals are 'digital' but this one is on the next board and the operating gubbins needs to include microswitches that will isolate a section when the signal is at danger so a manual override button can be pressed for a loco to enter the single line without the token in order to run round the train in the loop but whilst still being protected by the signal in the model world and preventing a short circuit in the real world. The layout is wired for 2 controllers that can take control of any part of the layout but the single line section can only be worked when the token is inserted in the appropriate controller station. I'll get some photos, tomorrow, that should explain this better. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ruston Posted March 3, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 3, 2019 (edited) The wiring is done, at last! Another hateful job ticked off the list and one step nearer to doing the interesting stuff. Not very interesting, I know. And not all that tidy either. I lost count of how many times I had the boards on their side because something or other wouldn't work, or one section ran in the opposite direction to the others but it's done now. There's the fiddle yard wiring to do but that's relatively easy and can be above the board surface. Here's the single line token. It's nothing more than a a pair of block connectors that have the male/female ends, plus a piece of wire. The station (left-hand controller) can take control of the station loop and the token controls only the single line but the right-hand controller needs the token for the single line and the station loop. It looks more like Death Valley than the Calder Valley at the moment but as soon as the track is ballasted I will be able to add some greenery. The bridge over the 'main line' to the upper level. The main line is to be run as a Light Railway, carrying passenger, public goods and private mineral traffic, hence the signals. The upper level will be run as an industrial mineral railway without signalling. The only level sections are that which runs alongside the Navigation and the station platform. Edited March 3, 2019 by Ruston 22 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium DLT Posted March 3, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 3, 2019 Just come across this one, very nice too. Now I've got to go back to the start and read it through... Cheers, Dave. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 8, 2019 Author Share Posted March 8, 2019 (edited) I have been working on the left hand fiddle yard and it now just needs wiring up. I cut a hole in the baseboard and put in another floor at a lower level. The traverser is an old offcut of either a kitchen worktop, or a shelf and it runs on a pair of ball bearing drawer runners. The upper level track that will run into this end will be just a single track shelf, or I may add a point so that two trains can be fitted in. Edited March 8, 2019 by Ruston 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyburns56 Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 On 08/02/2019 at 17:03, Barclay said: Yes - On the original layout I set them into plastic angle screwed to the side of the layout - doesn't look great but it works. On the newer board I've set them into the baseboard and hidden them with a Gents' urinal ! I love that crane tank model, is it based on Southwick 7069 that used be at Dinting Steam Centre? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted March 8, 2019 Share Posted March 8, 2019 Thanks, yes, one of the Doxford shipyard loco's. Backwoods Miniatures kit, but if you seek one, beware it's HO scale (by mistake!) 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 On 08/03/2019 at 16:40, Ruston said: I have been working on the left hand fiddle yard and it now just needs wiring up. I cut a hole in the baseboard and put in another floor at a lower level. The traverser is an old offcut of either a kitchen worktop, or a shelf and it runs on a pair of ball bearing drawer runners. The upper level track that will run into this end will be just a single track shelf, or I may add a point so that two trains can be fitted in. One thing that I hadn't considered and am now scratching my head over is how the hell do I wire this up? I can't really have wires being dragged to and fro... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
montyburns56 Posted March 9, 2019 Share Posted March 9, 2019 23 hours ago, Barclay said: Thanks, yes, one of the Doxford shipyard loco's. Backwoods Miniatures kit, but if you seek one, beware it's HO scale (by mistake!) Thanks, to be honest I don't really have the skills to build one, but it's nice to know that a kit exists if I ever finish my Dinting diorama. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 9, 2019 Author Share Posted March 9, 2019 (edited) Just a few signs that I've made up. Edited March 9, 2019 by Ruston 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted March 9, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 9, 2019 2 hours ago, Ruston said: One thing that I hadn't considered and am now scratching my head over is how the hell do I wire this up? I can't really have wires being dragged to and fro... How much does it actually move? You only need to allow a little omega loop in the wires to absorb this. If you feed the wires through when the travers is lined up on the middle road, you only need to allow for about 2” movement either side. Alternatively, use tube and pins to align the roads and transfer power. Tube both sides of the joint, with a sliding pin on the layout side to engage with the traverse road once lined up. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Premium Michael Edge Posted March 9, 2019 RMweb Premium Share Posted March 9, 2019 4 hours ago, Ruston said: One thing that I hadn't considered and am now scratching my head over is how the hell do I wire this up? I can't really have wires being dragged to and fro... Why not? They don't have to turn round or move very far, just leave the wires underneath in a loop. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barclay Posted March 10, 2019 Share Posted March 10, 2019 Most people I know who have a traverser use the tube and pin method, which also sorts out accurate alignment, but, like the others, I can't see a problem with wires - think of the head in a printer, it's free to roam up and down because it's fed by a looped ribbon of wires. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 10, 2019 Author Share Posted March 10, 2019 I guess I'll just have to do that then. It means more switches and I really wanted to avoid that in favour of some kind of contacts that carry the current when the tracks are lined up but I should have thought about that before gluing things in that can't now be removed. I've avoided doing anything about it, today. Instead I have been laying ballast and point rodding. I have also laid the last of the track on the scenic section. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted March 10, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 10, 2019 1 hour ago, Ruston said: I guess I'll just have to do that then. It means more switches and I really wanted to avoid that in favour of some kind of contacts that carry the current when the tracks are lined up but I should have thought about that before gluing things in that can't now be removed. I've avoided doing anything about it, today. So use the tube-in-pins method. No switches required. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ruston Posted March 12, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 12, 2019 On 10/03/2019 at 23:23, Regularity said: So use the tube-in-pins method. No switches required. That's probably what I'll do now, although there's not much space between the tracks on the traverser for getting fingers in to wiggle the pins in and out. Things are starting to come together on the scenery front. The buildings are all just placed and aren't yet fixed and there's a lot to do as regards greenery but it's getting there. The signal works, too! The old egg-ended boiler, used as a water tower, has been built for a while now but I haven't shown it until now. 19 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Regularity Posted March 12, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 12, 2019 You don’t hang about, do you? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 This evening's entertainment was building the bridge for the right-hand end of the layout. Card shell with Wills brick and stone sheets and girder bridge made from plain and rivetted plasticards. To get the arch I shaved the stone blocks down using a Stanley knife and then scored new mortar courses in. The girder bridge crosses the railway, the arch crosses the cut and the small opening on the right is for a foot/towpath. 10 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 (edited) The Traverser. It's not pretty but it works. Pin and tube on the far rails, to conduct power and to align the tracks. Fixed wire to all roads on the near side. The other end of the traverser will have a similar set up but each loco road will be switched. In other news, I have glued magnets into recesses in the bottom of the engine shed. As the track in the shed will need cleaning from time-to-time I thought it best be removable but I didn't want it just sitting on the top and gaps showing around the bottom, so there are also magnets in the fixed base to ensure the building sits in exactly the same position every time. I wrapped the building in Cling Film whilst the ballast was spread and glued around it. When the area is finished the shed ought to look as if it's part of it and not simply perched on top. Work on the footpath to the station is in progress... Edited November 4, 2022 by Ruston I spellzed stuff rong 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
micknich2003 Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 1 hour ago, Ruston said: The Traverser. It's not pretty but it works. Pin and tube on the far rails, to conduct power and to align the tracks. Fixed wire to all roads on the near side. The other end of the traverser will have a similar set up but each loco road will be switched. In other news, I have glued magnets into recesses in the bottom of the engine shed. As the track in the shed will need cleaning from time-to-time I thought it best be removable but I didn't want it just sitting on the top and gaps showing around the bottom, so there are also magnets in the fixed base to ensure the building sits in exactly the same position every time. I wrapped the building in Cling Film whilst the ballast was spread and glued around it. When the area is finished the shed ought to look as if it's part of it and not simply perched on top. Work on the footpath to the station is in progress... Dave, bottom view, the signal needs to be moved back a few yards, where you have it, a train stood at it would foul the adjacent line. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 I blame the cheapskate contractor. That footpath was supposed to be flags but he's just thrown down a bit of gravel, so it's to be expected that he won't do the signals right. Too late to do anything about it now, Mick. It's firmly glued in and there's all the under-baseboard gubbins that makes it work to consider too. I'm sure the drivers will know to stop with the first coach on the platform, so they won't foul the other line. Both lines can be run through in both directions and the nearest line has no signals at all, relying on the fact that a train on that line obviously can't enter the single line whilst the points are against it and the signalman is only going to set them when the driver has the staff. That's my excuse and it's all a bit iffy, being a light railway that doesn't really need the starter anyway. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
toplink@()1989))(( Posted March 16, 2019 Share Posted March 16, 2019 Just caught up with this topic. Regarding the traverser, I had a similar dilemma with mine. Originally I wanted cassettes but there wasn't enough room between the station exit/run round tracks so I came up with this, a cross between a cassette and a traverser. All lined up with the mark 1 eyeball. Electrical connection via push to make buttons. Just needs a splash of paint to tidy it up a bit. Cheer's, Pete. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 19, 2019 Author Share Posted March 19, 2019 Making a tree. Twisted wire, wrapped in masking tape, and then the stuff below painted on. I found this in the loft. I guess I've had it for almost 20 years and so I can't remember where I bought it but I used it on trees that I made on my O-14 layout Whitaker's Tramway. I was surprised that the contents weren't dried out but when I lifted the lid it was as good as new. 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Popular Post Ruston Posted March 20, 2019 Author Popular Post Share Posted March 20, 2019 Something rather more interesting... Most of the grass is down and some more vegetation is in the process of being added, so there's been a bit of test-running and a few snaps taken. A Directors' inspection tour of the works so far completed was conducted using Hercules and a single ex-NBR coach. 18 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Corbs Posted March 21, 2019 RMweb Gold Share Posted March 21, 2019 Cracking stuff. Really coming to life now. 2 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruston Posted March 24, 2019 Author Share Posted March 24, 2019 A few bits and pieces. The good old Wills platelayer's hut and a wall/railings to go around the General Manager's house, to stop his children and dog from plumetting off the old quarry face. I used some cut down GWR spear fence for this, atop waste sprue from a set of Wills doors and windows. There's also a grounded van body that I am converting to become a 3rd class waiting room. 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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