New Loft Layout

[dmustu]

Hello All,

 

After moving house 18 months ago, I gained a loft which was boarded out and has light and power, making a perfect space for a layout. I had a window fitted and re-plaster boarded the main section of the ceiling, as the existing plaster board was done quite badly.

 

Once done, I started construction of the baseboard. Not being a wood worker, I used metal framed tables intended for use in market stalls. The cost was about the same as buying all the timber to construct boards, but the frames slot together easily, and took all of a couple of hours to put together. These go most of the way round the loft, but because of the loft hatch, I put a shelf across one section to join the whole thing up. This has given me a continuous run, measuring 7.5 by 14 foot. All of the boards are 2 foot wide, and the shelf part is 6 foot long, and 10 inches wide. I have covered the plywood tops with 4mm cork.

 

Almost all of the track is now laid, I just need a few more fish plates to complete the main part of the layout. All track is peco code 75, a mix of concrete, wood and bullhead track. I have made a start on wiring, and there is now some power to the track. I will be mostly using DCC, but the 'Inner Main' will be wired separately to the rest of the layout, and will be switched to be DCC or Analogue.

 

I'm going for the look of a secondary mainline around the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s. I also have a small collection of Japanese HO, so I might use a corner of the layout for Japanese scenery, but haven't decided on this yet.

 

 

We have power!

 

Below is a schematic of the track plan, from Hornby Railmaster.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[danstercivicman]

Good luck with the new project

[dmustu]

Hello,

 

Not much has been going on above the baseboards, but plenty going on below. The wiring is not yet complete, but it is complete enough to run trains! I have got most of the points fitted with motors and working. I am waiting on a points decoder to come in the post to complete the rest. To control frog polarity, I have used the gaugemaster autofrogs on the outer dcc only line, and the universal relay switches on the inner line. These seem to work well, and are nice and easy to install and set up.

This is also the first time I have used T-tap connectors for wiring. I really didn't want to attempt soldering upside down. So far I have been very pleased with the T-tap connectors, and would definitely use them again. I have also used push fit terminal blocks to connect point motors to the decoder and wire in the autofrogs and universal relays to the track. Again, these are much easier to use than the screw terminal blocks, and should make removal of any defective components quick and easy to do without having to deal with long stretches of wire.

And the trains run, without falling off! Next jobs will to be finish of the wiring, and start the laborious task of painting the rail sides in preparation for ballasting. Think i'll do that in sections to break up the monotony.

 

Edited March 3, 2019 by dmustu
Spelling

[fishytrains]

Looks to be an interesting layout you are building. I will be following with interest.

 

Mike

[Rowsley17D]

I don't wish to criticise but there appears to be quite a hump in the track coming off the curve in the first video. Is it where two boards come together?

[dmustu]

7 minutes ago, Rowsley17D said:

I don't wish to criticise but there appears to be quite a hump in the track coming off the curve in the first video. Is it where two boards come together?

Yes, it is. I will pack the track to smooth out the transition when I start painting and ballasting the track, so hopefully it will be barely noticeable when done. 

[dmustu]

Not much done on the layout over the past month, with work commitments and doing work in the garden. I have started painting a section of track in preparation for ballasting. I am going to do this in sections, as i'd rather break up the task rather than try and paint the whole lot and then ballast in one go. I thought i'd have a go at spraying the track, rather than paint by hand. I started off by masking the sleepers, and then spraying the rails with railmatch dark rust.

Once done, I removed the masking from the goods loop and gave it a coat of sleeper grime. I then removed the masking from the main lines.

I have had some touching up to do, and some painting by brush around the points. Next stage is to give the whole area a misting with sleeper grime, and then I'll start putting some ballast down.

[steggy1990]

Looking good 

[dmustu]

Ballast, Ballast Ballast....

Since the last update, I gave the area a misting with sleeper grime, and then started ballasting. I have used the Woodland Scenics grey blend, as I had had a bag left over from the last layout. On running out, I then bought another bag, and found that the new stuff is much brighter in colour than the old stuff. Not really a problem, as real ballast varies in colour, and there is still weathering to do, but was surprised to see the difference.

I also painted up some Peco AWS ramps, as I know where I will put the signals, and placed them in position, although they are not  stuck down yet.

Before ballasting, I painted area between the main tracks and at the side of all tracks with a thin layer of pva. The ballast was then spread on, profiled and stuck down with the usual pva/water/detergent mix.

I used railmatch aerosols to paint the track. Whilst I prefer these to using a brush for much of the work, I also found them a tad problematic, mostly in the lack of control you get from an aerosol. Also, over time I think using aerosols regularly will work out pretty expensive over time, so after quite a bit of research and deliberation, I have ordered my first ever air brush. I am looking forward to getting to grips with it, and weathering this section of track will be one of it's first jobs, after practicing with it first!

I think i'll take a little break from ballasting, I actually quite like doing it, but also like a break from it. Time to clean the rails and run a few trains I think...

[1722]

Track looks super. Great job. 

[saxokid]

Coming on real treat now..

[tigerburnie]

Looking good

[dmustu]

I can't believe its been over a year since I last updated the topic! The time has flown by......

 

Since the last update, I have done a fair bit to the layout, although much of it has been sorting out the electrics, so whilst the underside of the layout has changed, the top hasn't that much. 

 

The main lines are now ballasted all the way round, and much of the track has been weathered, although there is more to do on this front. I started out using aerosol cans for this, and although they have their uses, they have their limitations too. Main thing I found is that they are too uncontrollable, plus longer term are an expensive way to do painting, so after a bit of research I invested in an airbrush.

The track in the foreground was weathered with an aerosol, you can see the change to where it has been sprayed with the airbrush. You can't control the flow of paint from the can, so the weathering is rather on the heavy side.

From this angle, the change isn't so obvious. This was the first time I have used an airbrush, I need more practice with it, but it was definitely worth the investment.

 

I have also installed signals on the layout, using a mix of Berko and Absolute Aspects signals. I wanted the signals to be automatic as possible, so I have used Heathcote Electronics to operate the signals, with the Gaugemaster universal relays to interlock the signals with the points. 

I have three 3 aspect signals on each line, with an additional signal to protect the end of the loop. I still have a route indicator and a sub signal to wire, but otherwise these are complete. The signals are not yet permanently attached to the board, I'll sort this when I work on scenery in the area of the signals, as I may need to remove them temporarily for that and further weathering of the track.

Only slight issue I have on the signalling front is that the DCC signal can cause interference with the send and receive wires that link the Heathcote controls together. I have one area on the layout that affects a signal on the inner loop if it is green, a passing train on DCC can cause the aspect to flick between green and yellow. It's not just the big railway that has these issues! 

Lastly, switches for layout and signal control so far (I think I'll only need 2 more). The top rotary switch on the right hand side switches one of my sidings between being a programming track or normal track power, the bottom one switches the inner loop to be either DCC or analogue. I have also installed a usb charger which runs off the 12v dc circuit, which has proved quite useful to have. The red switches on the left control power to the main line and goods loop when on analogue power, when running on dcc I switch both on, and the group of 3 switches are for a signal, although the red one is no longer needed as the signal is interlocked with the 3 points that it protects.