muddy water Posted November 30, 2020 Share Posted November 30, 2020 Great! What size and type of copper Tape did you use? How many Amps can it support? As some DCC Systems can supply up to 10 Amps. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy water Posted December 1, 2020 Share Posted December 1, 2020 Just thinking! Do divide up the layout into power districts. The station, depot, fiddle yard and main line boards. So if a short occurs, (usually a locomotive run against incorrectly set points) you can quickly locate by isolating each area. Some people used car brake light bulbs as indicator lamps. There are other clever circuits available as well. I found this out when a point motor frog switching failed and shut the whole layout down! No rolling stock on the layout to blame, it took a while to find. Had I separated the areas up before it would have saved me precious modelling time! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted December 8, 2020 Author Share Posted December 8, 2020 (edited) On 30/11/2020 at 23:02, muddy water said: Great! What size and type of copper Tape did you use? How many Amps can it support? As some DCC Systems can supply up to 10 Amps. It's 6mm wide tape. As for amps, haven't a clue to be honest. I've had it for a number of years but it was advertised as being suited for model railways. On 01/12/2020 at 22:11, muddy water said: Just thinking! Do divide up the layout into power districts. The station, depot, fiddle yard and main line boards. So if a short occurs, (usually a locomotive run against incorrectly set points) you can quickly locate by isolating each area. Some people used car brake light bulbs as indicator lamps. There are other clever circuits available as well. I found this out when a point motor frog switching failed and shut the whole layout down! No rolling stock on the layout to blame, it took a while to find. Had I separated the areas up before it would have saved me precious modelling time! Not a bad shout that. As the layout isn't that big (in comparison to some that exist out there), I won't delve into this just yet. However it can be a project for the future should an opportunity arise. Great suggestion though. Following on from a video I uploaded to my Facebook page of the first train running on the layout, a couple of friends (I know, I have friends!) couldn't help but comment on my clonky Hornby Elite system that was set up. A suggestion of the Digikeijs DR5000 was made to me, of which my response was "what the hell is that?". Despite being in the hobby for what will be 13 years this Christmas, I've never come across said system. Turns out after a bit of research, it's exactly what I need. Comprehensive DCC system, backwards compatible with various LocoNET controllers and accessories, and best of all, great value. Usually sold for around the £170 ish mark here in the UK, I couldn't help myself when the Black Friday sale was on and Digikeijs themselves were selling the units for £124 posted - absolute steal. Anyway, it arrived on Friday morning. Spent some time with it yesterday and managed to get my phone, with the Z21 app, linked up and controlling trains! Bloody fantastic. Edited September 14, 2023 by JackB95 Fixing broken pictures 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted December 18, 2020 Author Share Posted December 18, 2020 The North Wales theme starting to establish itself now... Spent this afternoon working on my first Metcalfe kit in years. Well happy with this. Also scratch built an arch as inspired by that in Conwy. 15 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1722 Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Looks super Jack. The arch is just the ticket! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 1 hour ago, 1722 said: Looks super Jack. The arch is just the ticket! Many thanks Chris! So the other day I popped into my local store (Monk Bar Models of York) to pick up another wall and tower kit to complete my scene. I also purchased some PM1 point motors as I wanted to get the outer loop up and running and so thought it'd just be a case of fit the motors to the double slips to get the power issues sorted as they come with built-in polarity switches. It wasn't until refreshing my mind on how to wire up a double slip that the penny dropped - they come with dropper wires for the actual diamond crossing bits. All I had to do was wire them to the bus wire and hey presto! Dead section sorted. Obviously all my pointwork still needs the frogs wiring up which I will get to at some point, but a little fix that I should've realised much sooner has now finally been sorted. This is what the castle scene looks like as it stands. I put a proposal to the world out on my social media asking if I should recreate a small request halt station between the walls and baseboard join, just like the real thing at Conwy. A resounding yes was concluded. And because you've all been good boys and girls, a video! Have a great Christmas all! Thanks for your support over the past year. Fair to say it's been uterly ______, but it is what it is. Stay safe, enjoy yourselves wherever possible, and remember... NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted December 25, 2020 Author Share Posted December 25, 2020 Merry Christmas all! I think this'll keep me busy for a while... Got a couple of Railway Laser Lines shed kits too which'll look absolutely fit once built! 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1722 Posted December 25, 2020 Share Posted December 25, 2020 Merry Christmas Jack. Love the SMS kits, enjoyable to build. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Nipped into town earlier today. Popped into Monk Bar models (again) to get a load of paints for my model kits which I've recently collected (shed, fueling shelter, and many 3D printed parts). Sorted out a right-hand point to allow me to slightly remodel the dodgy trackwork. Seems to have done the trick so far! Visited The Works to get some cheap brown paint to allow me to paint the surface. Base colour of brown to replicate earth colour so that should there be a break in scenery on top, it shows through as mud just like the real deal. Need to get a smaller brush out tomorrow to do the last bits between the tracks. Makes quite a difference, eh! 8 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1722 Posted December 28, 2020 Share Posted December 28, 2020 Looks good Jack. Are you planning to raise the height in some areas? 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 44 minutes ago, 1722 said: Looks good Jack. Are you planning to raise the height in some areas? Thanks Chris! If by height you mean scenic height, I think something can be done yeah. I'm thinking of a shallow hillside in the back corner between the station and the depot, and maybe something similar in front of the depot junction to create the illusion of the track being in a cutting of sorts. Otherwise, I think that's it! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 2, 2021 Author Share Posted January 2, 2021 (edited) Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all managed to see that awful excuse of 366 days out of the door in some way or another! I've spent the past few days making a mess in the kitchen with my first 2 laser-cut kits, and this has happened! Pretty pleased with the outcome! A lot more work needed than your average Metcalfe kit. Priming, painting, and following different style instructions. But, with the help of some YouTube videos, the fueling shed came together in 1 day and the big shed over 3 days! Steep learning curves, and the importance of taking your time and being careful with fragile parts shone through (thankfully, nothing broke!). The base of the shed needs fixing down, but the one for the fueling shelter is all sorted. Both structures will receive lighting and weathering at some point in the future... Cheers all! Got some Scalemodelscenery stuff to get my teeth into now. Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 5, 2021 Author Share Posted January 5, 2021 (edited) This afternoon's project all donr and dusted! Amazing what some luminescent stuff can do... 10m of 6000k colour LED 24v tape, fitted into aluminium V shaped channels. £50 in total! Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 6 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 14, 2021 Author Share Posted January 14, 2021 Evening all. Nothing really happened on the layout since my last post. Not had the time or enthusiasm to do anything. However, that hasn't meant I've been quiet. Jonathan @jrb at JSModels has since been commissioned to make my custom station buildings. I've not sent him anything much other than a few low-res pictures stolen off the web so he could get an idea of what I'm after. Fair to say, I'm bloody impressed! I'm not aiming for it to be 100% accurate, but he's already made it near-perfect. My hat goes off to him, and I for sure am looking forward to seeing the done deal! 11 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
1722 Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 Splen. Did. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
CazRail Posted January 14, 2021 Share Posted January 14, 2021 They are bloomin' impressive! 1 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 15, 2021 Author Share Posted January 15, 2021 16 hours ago, 1722 said: Splen. Did. You're not wrong Chris! 15 hours ago, CazRail said: They are bloomin' impressive! Aren't they just?! It's gonna be amazing. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 (edited) A few more bits of stock have come out of their boxes, been serviced, and made a few trips around the layout. Whilst it's not quite a running session, here's a selection of photographs! ScotRail 68006 'Daring' and its matching rake of mk2s on the shed And the same set travelling around the layout... The EMT HST came out for a service a week or so ago, but it didn't turn a wheel until this morning where I stole a chip out of a 153 to get this working Both sets completely ruin the North Wales theme, but rule 1 applies obviously. The ScotRail set has the Hornby Mk2s with the bogie-mounted NEM sockets. They're fitted with appropriate Hunt couplings, and whilst the gangways ever so slightly touch here and there, the train remains on the rails - result. A bit of graphite over the gangways will provide some lubricant to help. The HST is also formed of Hunt couplings, and works a treat. It did throw a slight wobbly in the odd place but that's probably down to crap in the frogs of points or something. It also performed flawlessly with the powercar at the back. For the eagle-eyed ones amongst us, the HST uses two TS coaches in place of the very expensive and rare TF coaches. One of the standards needs a repaint on one side as the previous owner used it as a project, but weridly also has a TF interior with the 2+1 seating. I also realised this morning that the interiors have the opposite colours. 2+2 standard seats should be red but are blue, and the 2+1 first seats are red but should be blue. A simple fix, but annoying. I've asked Steve at Railtec if he can scale up his N gauge EMT transfers so I can get the first class dots on the coaches. Cheers Edited September 14, 2023 by JackB95 Fixing broken pictures 10 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 (edited) Not managed much recently, mainly because I've recently started my new job sitting up front of a train (training is away from home). Decided to crack on with making my rails all rusty. Only took about 5 hours, and a lot less paint than I expected. A small paintbrush, patience, and pot of Humbrol Rust Wash did me proud. Looks alright dunnit! The 56 and 09 are on loan from a friend of mine who's decided to up the game and go O gauge, so I'm playing with the locos for the time being. A different change of scene for me! Puts my 153s to shame Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 7 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffP Posted February 20, 2021 Share Posted February 20, 2021 On 14/01/2021 at 17:46, JackB95 said: Evening all. Nothing really happened on the layout since my last post. Not had the time or enthusiasm to do anything. However, that hasn't meant I've been quiet. Jonathan @jrb at JSModels has since been commissioned to make my custom station buildings. I've not sent him anything much other than a few low-res pictures stolen off the web so he could get an idea of what I'm after. Fair to say, I'm bloody impressed! I'm not aiming for it to be 100% accurate, but he's already made it near-perfect. My hat goes off to him, and I for sure am looking forward to seeing the done deal! Do you have an address or link to JS Models, please? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 47 minutes ago, JeffP said: Do you have an address or link to JS Models, please? This is your man https://www.jsmodels.co.uk/ Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted February 20, 2021 Author Share Posted February 20, 2021 Recorded a few moves around the layout this afternoon. Been a while since I last did this! Don't expect it to be a regular occurance 6 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted March 7, 2021 Author Share Posted March 7, 2021 Received an email this afternoon from @jrb who's been working on my station building commission. Bit more fiddling around with designs and materials and another test cut, approx 1/4 the size of the final piece, has been put together! I think we can all agree that this is some truly outstanding work done by Jonathan. The test cut hasn't got roof details or canopy valences fitted, but nevertheless it is a beautiful piece of work and will look immense once fully built and installed. You can follow Jonathan's work here. 9 4 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 (edited) Bit of a busy 24hrs on the layout... @jrb's 1/4 length test cut building arrived for me to trial and see if it'll fit. A makeshift platform was put together for the sake of this exercise. A few adjustments to be made, mainly with the width of the structure to give more room under the canopies. Other than that, I'm very impressed. It's gonna be absolutely beautiful once in place. A few new items of rolling stock have arrived. Firstly, I snapped up the opportunity to 6 pairs of Dapol GBRf MJA wagons off a mate for a good price. But I didn't have a suitable loco for it, so I sorted that out thanks to Dicky of Chesborough North... I'm also quite a way into my new job which involves driving one of Britain's favourite units. It would be wrong not to have a model of the exact one I drove as part of a depot exercise... Thanks to Greg at Ebsworth Street for selling his at the right time. And lastly, something I've been loosely search for since starting the layout build, I was made aware of a CMX track cleaner at a very good price. Despite my bank account already having been emptied because of the above, I couldn't say no... It was sent around yesterday for several laps of each loop and crossing. Much better! And for those wondering, yes, my bank account is now empty. Thankfully payday just been is mortgage free thanks to it being a 4 week pay. Silver lining etc etc. Hope you're all keeping well! Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 9 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
JackB95 Posted April 30, 2021 Author Share Posted April 30, 2021 (edited) Bit the bullet and paid a visit to my local timber merchants to sort out some MDF for... ... platforms! 9mm MDF sandwiched together, and then screwed down to the baseboards. A few minor track adjustments were made, mainly to the bay platform, in order to straighten it up against the edge of the wood. That'll teach me for not doing platforms first (which would've been easier IMHO). Thankfully using Copydex for sticking the track down has worked in my favour. I used the Dapol 121 for the gauging as it's the widest piece of rolling stock on the layout thanks to the sidesteps. Kinda puts it into perspective now how big the station actually is. The bay can just about fit a 350 Desiro. Unfortunately for me, I've now got lots of dust sitting on top of stock and the layout thanks to the nature of working with MDF. Time to get out the hoover and track cleaner. I also did some work to 66709 which can be seen here on my workbench thread. Edited April 1, 2022 by JackB95 5 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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