Puzzel Yard - O gauge in 2.745m x 0.5m

[St Enodoc]

1 hour ago, Ray H said:

The layout was dismantled a few weeks ago and has been languishing around the garage and leaning on the sides of the OO gauge layout, frequently needing to be moved so that I could access things in the cupboards and drawers behind the baseboards when I was working on other bits and bobs.

 

After several ideas that I left floating in my head I finally arrived at an idea that I could use as the base for a trolley on which the layout could be stored and, if necessary, moved elsewhere in the house should the need arise.

 

 

You'll have to take my word for the fact that there is now so much extra usable space compared with what there was when the boards were leaning against the OO layout.

 

The ultimate plan which requires a bit of cupboard and drawer emptying so that I can move stuff not currently in drawers and cupboards into the spaces thus created is for the trolley to normally reside at the far end of the garage, partly under the OO layout, to the right of the chair.

 

 

I'm currently working on some stuff for the club for which I need the bench. I shall re-erect the O gauge layout once that's done with the intent of doing some ballasting.

 

All the best to all readers for 2020.

 

 

Very nice Ray. Now, before it's too late, you need some sheets of ply or MDF to protect the ends, particularly the rail ends. Don't ask me how I know this.

[Ray H]

10 hours ago, St Enodoc said:

Very nice Ray. Now, before it's too late, you need some sheets of ply or MDF to protect the ends, particularly the rail ends. Don't ask me how I know this.

 

I can understand the reason why and how you might know this .

 

However, I know me (and I'm my own worst enemy) and whilst I might start off putting any end protectors on I'll probably not faithfully end up doing so.

 

That said, thanks for the reminder, it hadn't occurred to me that I ought to have some.

 

What I need is something quick & easy to add/remove as it would be the fitting, tightening (of fixings), loosening and removal that I'd find a chore.

 

I might not find it such a chore if I could come up with an idea that, for example, used magnets.

 

I'll give it some thought once I've cleared the work bench. Thanks again for mentioning it.

[Ray H]

I managed to finish off the immediate club job and have cleared the bench so that it can be folded down and Puzzel Yard erected ready for ballasting.

 

However, St Enodoc's comments about end plates hadn't gone away. As a result I did some experimenting with some Neodymium magnets that I had lying around.

 

The first test involved using some 4mm diameter magnets. I drilled suitable sized holes in a scrap piece of plywood to take the magnets - they were a tight enough fit in the holes that they didn't need glue to keep them in place. The holes were positioned opposite some already present screw heads in the baseboard's end plate. Despite a slight bow in the plywood the magnets locked onto the screw heads but it didn't take much effort to re-position the protector. In the absence of anything else this method is better than nothing but probably not strong enough to withstand the kind of knocks that would damage the rail ends.

 

I've done several other experiments with the few magnet shapes and sizes that I have here and am not satisfied that I can find a solution that will give a high enough level of protection to the baseboard ends.

 

Something a bit more robust is obviously needed. The question is do I use screws through the protector into the baseboard end plate - and how long will the said screw holes last? - or do I bite the bullet and drill a couple of holes through the protector and end plate and secure the two with a nut & bolt?  A bolt through from the baseboard side of the end plate and the protector would make fitting a (wing) nut easier but then the bolt needs to be removed and have the nut re-affixed whereas pushing the bolt through the protector and into the end plate would mean that the bolt can stay put in the protector and the nut added to the bolt to keep both safe when the protector is not in use. The same would apply with screws as it would only be necessary to unscrew it far enough to be free of the baseboard end plate.

 

And then, as I wrote the above I remembered T nuts. This avoids the loose nut but not the loose screw/bolt (when undone).

 

Or, perhaps, a sacrificial block of wood on the inside of the end plate. The end plate hole itself becomes of a clearance size so the screw remains in the protector when the protector is removed and the block can be replaced whenever its screw hole becomes worn.

 

Some more thinking is obviously needed.

[5BarVT]

How about:

drill two holes in the base board

screw through into the removable end plate

remove the head and smooth off the screw shank

use magnets to hold onto the board

 

Easy to fit and remove, but the sideways forces that would damage the rail ends are taken by the screw shanks not the magnets.

 

Paul.

[Ray H]

10 hours ago, 5BarVT said:

How about:

drill two holes in the base board

screw through into the removable end plate

remove the head and smooth off the screw shank

use magnets to hold onto the board

 

Easy to fit and remove, but the sideways forces that would damage the rail ends are taken by the screw shanks not the magnets.

 

Paul.

 

Paul

 

That's basically what I (think I) did initially with the magnets - the board ends are made up of two layers of ply ao they have three screws in the baseboard end plate. I was using these screws as something for the magnets to grip onto. It did that OK, although it may do so even firmer with something a little larger that the 4mm diameter magnets that I have here. The end protector stayed in place but was easily dislodged possibly partly caused by the end protector not being totally flat.

 

I could try and find some larger diameter magnets and a piece of flat wood (!) and try again.

 

An alternative that I only thought of late yesterday - and which is gaining some support from within me - is the bolts that hold the legs in place under the layout. They're not used when the layout's on the trolley and need to be found a home from whence they can't escape. I only have four board ends with track on (and just eight bolts) so I could use a pair of bolts to secure each end protector to the board end with the wing nut under the baseboard so that there wouldn't be anything of significant length projecting from the board end and likely to catch the unwary.

[Robert Stokes]

Here's another idea that would give very quick removal and replacement. Add some aluminium angle (or wooden substitute) down both sides and across the bottom. Then you can slide in a plain piece of wood.

 

Robert

[Ray H]

10 hours ago, Robert Stokes said:

Here's another idea that would give very quick removal and replacement. Add some aluminium angle (or wooden substitute) down both sides and across the bottom. Then you can slide in a plain piece of wood.

 

Robert

 

Ta

 

Have I misunderstood your thinking?

 

Surely the additions would foul each other when two boards are brought together.

[Robert Stokes]

When I mentioned the sides and bottom I was referring to the cabinet in which the boards are stored. I thought that you wanted to protect the tracks on the ends of the boards when they were stored in the cabinet.

 

Robert

[Ray H]

1 hour ago, Robert Stokes said:

When I mentioned the sides and bottom I was referring to the cabinet in which the boards are stored. I thought that you wanted to protect the tracks on the ends of the boards when they were stored in the cabinet.

 

Robert

 

That makes sense, thank you. I thought you meant doing something to each board.

[Ray H]

This is where the trolley with boards would normally live when packed away.  A day spent sorting out which tools I want to keep - because I have recently used them and may use them again - and those that I'd forgotten I had or have never been used will provide some space to relocate the content of the nest of drawers that was previously tucked under the OO layout here. The tools - in the loosest sense of the word - will go to a local tools for the third world group who can make them fit for use, sell those items that aren't relevant to make funds for the group's activities or go for scrap.

 

 

There's still a bit of sorting out to do but once its done I shall attend to the baseboard end protectors.

 

I hadn't initially thought of putting the legs on the trolley but did so as an experiment. The legs are quite narrow and have to be perched rather precariously on the ledges originally intended (and designed) to suit the baseboards. The small amount of moving the trolley around has shown that the legs aren't stable enough in that position so I need to think of somewhere else to store them.  Decisions, decisions.

[Andrew P]

4 hours ago, Ray H said:

This is where the trolley with boards would normally live when packed away.  A day spent sorting out which tools I want to keep - because I have recently used them and may use them again - and those that I'd forgotten I had or have never been used will provide some space to relocate the content of the nest of drawers that was previously tucked under the OO layout here. The tools - in the loosest sense of the word - will go to a local tools for the third world group who can make them fit for use, sell those items that aren't relevant to make funds for the group's activities or go for scrap.

 

 

There's still a bit of sorting out to do but once its done I shall attend to the baseboard end protectors.

 

I hadn't initially thought of putting the legs on the trolley but did so as an experiment. The legs are quite narrow and have to be perched rather precariously on the ledges originally intended (and designed) to suit the baseboards. The small amount of moving the trolley around has shown that the legs aren't stable enough in that position so I need to think of somewhere else to store them.  Decisions, decisions.

Peter BB at our Railway Club, had used a similar Trolley for Swad Lane, but also used the Trolly as a board support when set up to give a rigid foundation for the Legs on the other boards.

Would your Legs / Layout Legs, NOT the ones you walk on, be in the way of Scenics up on top?

Still all very neat Ray.

[Ray H]

Hi Andy

 

Happy New Year mate.

 

I hadn't thought of using the trolley to support the layout when in use. That's possibly because I need the trolley to keep a low profile so to speak so that part of it slid under the OO layout.

 

I had also thought of resting the legs on top of the trolley when I was looking at the picture yesterday. It looks a possibility and is something I was going to check when I go into the garage in a little while, after I've updated the club accounts.

 

Thanks for the idea(s).

[jcm@gwr]

24 minutes ago, Ray H said:

Hi Andy

 

Happy New Year mate.

 

I hadn't thought of using the trolley to support the layout when in use. That's possibly because I need the trolley to keep a low profile so to speak so that part of it slid under the OO layout.

 

I had also thought of resting the legs on top of the trolley when I was looking at the picture yesterday. It looks a possibility and is something I was going to check when I go into the garage in a little while, after I've updated the club accounts.

 

Thanks for the idea(s).

 

Just a thought, could you not use/fit the legs either end of the trolley,

to protect the ends of the boards (and, therefore the track)

[Ray H]

Thanks for the thought/suggestion. That would add to the length and I'd rather not do that as it already encroaches into the operating area of the OO layout.

 

I had a look this morning and think there is room to lay the legs on top of the trolley without impacting the OO layout above. I can do that with a couple of pieces of mdf laying across the top of the trolley. I'd add a small block each side to stop the MDF with legs on top falling onto the layout.

 

The layout's going back up tomorrow as I have a visitor to see it. I shall then do a bit of ballasting before I put it back on the trolley again so that I can make the end protectors for the baseboards. I'm hoping to make them interchangeable so it won't matter which protector goes where. I had hoped to do that with the legs but it didn't work out that way.

[Ray H]

I've been threatening to do some ballasting and have finally drummed up the enthusiasm to make a start.

 

The wispy clear (ish) stuff is cereal bag that I've temporarily slid between the baseboards in the hope that I I add the adhesive the two adjacent boards won't stick together. With over ¾ of the bottle of ballast gone and only about half the track ballasted I think I'll need to get another bottle.

 

 

I did buy some black cinders which I was thinking of using but the idea being that the layout's rural puts me off using it - I haven't got enough of that the save me buying more of what I've been using. I'll reserve the cinders for the area where I may have a loco coaling stage.

[Andrew P]

That looks excellent Ray, well done mate, and YES, O Gauge does EAT Ballast.

[Adrian Stevenson]

Looks nice and neat.

[Ray H]

I bought another jar, ballasted what still needed it and subsequently added diluted PVA in the prescribed manner. I've never worked with ballast pieces as thick as this before so I may have got things wrong.

 

I vacuumed the track the day after applying the PVA and ended up with a number of holes or areas of thinly spread ballast. OK. I filled the holes etc., applied more PVA and left it overnight again. Once again the vac came out and once again holes appeared although I'm not convinced that the new holes were where their predecessors were. Try again and the same thing happens again. These aren't big holes just annoying ones.

 

The last vacuuming was this morning and there were still a few holes appearing even though I'd used a stronger mix. Anyway, to other things.

 

My original idea was to use the ubiquitous bridge to separate the scenic area from the sector plate but I then altered my thinking on how the layout would be used and the bridge doesn't (currently) feature in those plans because part of the puzzle involves using every suitable length(s) of track for shunting wagons to. This includes both sector plate tracks and for this I want to keep the sector plate activity visible within reason so people can still see movements are occurring.

 

Part of that original idea was to have the two point switches at the edge of the layout atop the baseboard and hidden by one of the bridge abutments because of the closeness of the switch wiring to the edge of the ballast as seen in the first two pictures.

 

 

There is no way that I could disguise the switches without a bridge or similar so I decided to move the switches to the side of the baseboard frame. This involved dismantling the layout and for ease of working inverting the centre baseboard on the bench whereupon (subsequently) and despite only vacuuming a short while previously, there was a noticeable deposit of ballast on the table.

 

Anyway, the switches have now been moved and using an even stronger PVA/water mix I've filled the holes in the ballast once again.

 

At least now all I need to hide from view are the three servos.

 

 

I shall have to wait until tomorrow to see if the glue has held this time. 

[Ray H]

Funny how just adding a few buffer stops can make a world of difference - at least that was my first thought when I walked into the garage this morning.

 

 

I'm using a NCE PowerCab as the prime controller/throttle but the short flat lead I've been using isn't long enough for me to put the throttle down anywhere other than on tracks. The long lead that comes with the PowerCab has long been diverted to other tasks associated with the OO layout so . . . . 

 

I had a thought of what I could do with a metal coat hanger. First, discard the hook and straighten the remainder of the coat hanger out (or at least enough for the task in hand).

 

Then bend it to the following shape where the width is a little wider than the PowerCab and the depth likewise.

 

Then drill 2 holes in the baseboard frame no higher that the height of the bracket and as wide as the bracket.

 

Now insert the bracket into the two holes and presto, a bracket to support the throttle. I know there are prettier ones on the market but they're too deep and can't be easily/quickly removed. I haven't tried it yet - because I've only just thought of it - but this bracket may not need to be removed as it should be possible to push it in (once the throttle's been removed).

 

The downside is that the cable between the plug-in panel (PCP) and the throttle has to pass down between bracket and baseboard. That's not a problem with the short flat throttle I currently use, it might be a problem with a longer or curly lead.

 

 

Oh, and by the way, the vacuum still managed to eat a small amount of ballast this morning so that's been replaced as has that which had previously been eaten and I hadn't noticed was missing yesterday. This time, however, I was using almost neat PVA so fingers crossed for tomorrow.

 

I've also done a bit of ground work but more of that anon.

[Andrew P]

Hi Ray, I Ballast dry, then add PVA / Water / Detergent mix, and drown the whole area in a white thickish mix, I too get odd bits that come out now and again, it depends on the power of your Vacuum or how close you hold the nozzle to the Track.

I hope you get it sorted mate. 

[Ray H]

Cheers Andy.

 

I suspect I'd diluted the PVA too much with some of the initial attempts but yesterdays was a lot stronger. I haven't had the vacuum out yet today.

 

The vacuum is a small workshop type so has a bit of suck. I tried a hand held jobby first and that didn't seem to lift too much which is why I swapped to the bigger one. I'd sooner any loose stuff falls out now rather than when there's scenery on the boards. I have to keep reminding myself that the boards will get moved around a fair bit as I need to keep putting on and taking them off the trolley every time I want to get to the bench.

 

It's a pity that the garage hasn't got an upper floor as I could put one layout upstairs.  One the other hand there's a spare bedroom upstairs but that wouldn't be any better because I'd need to take the baseboards down to the garage every time I wanted to work on them.

[Ray H]

I still managed to uplift a small amount this morning - and find one area that I'd missed yesterday that requires infilling but other than it all seems sorted.

 

I'm planning to use a mix of Artex and powder for the base of the ground cover. I covered a small area with it yesterday afternoon. It still hasn't set so there'll be nothing done to it today as I'm off to club in a short while.

[Ray H]

The most recent recruit to Puzzel Yard's complexity - more wagons equals more moves and indeed more move combinations. There are now 17 wagons/vans on the layout and two locos. This van and another were surplus in a batch of four purchased by my mate Jim so he donated them to me - thanks Jim. The other van is currently devoid of any numbers/marks which makes it difficult to show in a list of vehicles and the tracks onto which they must be shunted.

 

 

The test area of Artex hasn't come out too bad.

 

 

My next problem is to find a way to hide these servos - there's another one nearer the camera. Any cover over the servos at least will need to be removable.

 

 

I was thinking of a low wall with a fence on top. I'd want said fence to surround the two sidings nearest to the edge of the layout but I'm not so sure about the low wall.

 

I had originally thought of a grassy bank but I think that would end up being too close to the track and wouldn't leave room for a walk way.

[birdseyecircus]

Longer cables are available for NCE on eBay Ray.

 

Paul

 

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F111236729311

[Ray H]

Thanks Paul. I have a good 90% of a 100m role of the 6-way  flat cable, numerous RJ12 plugs and associated crimping tool so could have made a longer one up but then I'd have to find somewhere to keep it when not in use. The short cable that I had been using doubles as the cable when the PowerCab is connected to my programming tracks and hangs tidily over the power pack when not in use.

 

I've now got the curly lead which isn't much longer when compressed than the short flat lead but at least I can comfortably stretch to either end of the layout whilst holding the throttle now without fear of ending up needing an osteopath or the throttle escaping my grasp.

 

 

I have also (legally) acquired ten boxes of 1000 wooden stirrers. I'm sure I can find a use for some of them on the layout! I wonder if they could be used to make a wooden fence?