Llamberg Railway

[WIMorrison]

That is lovely looking trackwork, could be used as an example for other people to try and emulate

[Andymsa]

Some of the hardware installed for point control and occupancy. DAC 10/20s control points at present there are 28 boards, for occupancy digitrax bdl168s and 50 are installed. All wires are color coded or have label identification to enable easy fault finding if needed

there are additional boards attached to the DACs, this is for tortoise point motors only. The boards just up the output voltage so you get a decent throw speed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Andymsa

[WIMorrison]

Another good set of exemplars on how wiring should look

[Andymsa]

As shown in the photos of December 7th, the new 8 road sidings are now finished and tested, no issues were found during the testing phase. The next stage was the removal of a helix and various track sections. Various point motors have been removed prior to the next 5 points that will be removed, once that is completed the re-routing of the lower hidden section will commence. 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Andymsa
Photos added

[WIMorrison]

Andy, there is no substitute for good track laying and you have shown that with careful laying then it will work first time, and every time thereafter, without any need fpor 'fettling' or adjustment.

 

You should start another thread showing people how to lay properly!

[Andymsa]

More destruction tonight, removed another 7 points and some very difficult to access base boards. My new best friend the multi tool came in very handy.

[Andymsa]

Track work is now being relaid on the lower section, which is the bit without track shown in previous photo. The track shown in the photo has been removed and will be the next job to re lay it. These alterations are for track realignment and rerouting. Initial testing was successful for train running and no electrical shorts. I decided to add a point which delayed work as this was a difficult part of the layout to reach.

 

another two sets of hidden sidings have had the track removed ready for the base board removal.

Edited December 28, 2020 by Andymsa

[Andymsa]

Two days destruction, the duck under section is now removed. Also all the sections above the storage sidings are removed. The next job will be to make a wider storage yard and to relay track on the base board on last photo. I have made a slight change to things, this has resulted in a point that was previously removed now having to be put back in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Andymsa

[WIMorrison]

Ha - had to put my laptop on its side to see the destruction - but I will admit that it is proper destruction!

 

Now we need to see the rebuild pictures

 

[Andymsa]

1 hour ago, WIMorrison said:

Ha - had to put my laptop on its side to see the destruction - but I will admit that it is proper destruction!

 

Now we need to see the rebuild pictures

 

 

I guess that’s looking at life sideways lol. What ever I try for some reason the sideways thing happens.

[Andymsa]

Progress is going well, all the top section is now removed and the last of track has been removed In this area. New sections of base board has now been installed and filler used for any gaps which isn’t pretty, but will be eventually hidden. I did make one mistake or more that I didn’t take into account of the depth of the point motors when the next section is built above the hidden sidings. Normally I leave a clearance of 10cms minimum, but as I use tortoise point motors this clearance was reduced to 6cm so the short uprights on the left had to be changed which didn’t take long and the error was easily corrected.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Andymsa
Spelling

[Andymsa]

The irony is as shown in a photo from 2014 this was how this area was originally before I made the original changes. I guess sometimes the best ideas just don’t work out.

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Andymsa

[Markwj]

Saw your concerns about posting your layout in the help thread then popped across to look. Your layout looks awesome, loving the catenary and the traverser! I am in the same boat as you regarding whether to post a layout thread or not but mine looks nowhere near as good or as professional  as yours!

Well done it looks brilliant 

[Andymsa]

On 10/01/2021 at 09:43, Markwj said:

Saw your concerns about posting your layout in the help thread then popped across to look. Your layout looks awesome, loving the catenary and the traverser! I am in the same boat as you regarding whether to post a layout thread or not but mine looks nowhere near as good or as professional  as yours!

Well done it looks brilliant 

thank you for the kind comments, as you can see the section I’m working on at the moment looks like a bomb has gone off. It’s more like two steps forward and one back lol. Catenary umm that certainly is a challenge, I sometimes wonder if the layout should of been fully diesel. Plain section is fairly easy to do and that’s what I started first, once I felt happy with that I started work on more complex areas. Working out placement of the support masts is very important and I used cotton and pins to simulate exactly what I needed and where things should run, the catenary is by sommerfeldt and they do a book for construction but I don’t always follow there methods especially with cross span construction as the method I use has been very successful. 
 

 

the photo doesn’t show it well but you can see the zig zag as you look along this section, the track has to be weathered yet. The rails are painted rust only on the facing side as you can see if you look closely. The rails are all hand painted, weathering is done with an air brush. 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Andymsa

[Mick Bonwick]

It's little snippets of information like this that I find very useful on RMweb. I don't necessarily respond to the poster when I see them, but I do make a note of where I find them, for future reference. Maybe I should always say, "Thank you" when I come across them, just to assure the poster that his effort was worthwhile.

[Mike Bellamy]

Andy

 

Same as Mark above - saw your other topic and came here to see the layout - I'm someone who hasn't built a layout despite being in the local club for about 40 years - I keep buying stuff and then don't do anything with it - first it was OO then 7mm narrow gauge and now 7mm standard gauge but it's still in boxes. You have an incredible project there and I was particularly impressed by the wiring - so neat when compared to some club layouts where so many have done a bit that doesn't match up with what went before. However two layouts I have been involved with (I make the tea !) were both wired by professional electricians who worked for BR in Derby - one at the Loco works and the other at Carriage & Wagon - both extremely neat and tidy.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Mike

[Andymsa]

12 minutes ago, Mick Bonwick said:

It's little snippets of information like this that I find very useful on RMweb. I don't necessarily respond to the poster when I see them, but I do make a note of where I find them, for future reference. Maybe I should always say, "Thank you" when I come across them, just to assure the poster that his effort was worthwhile.

 

hi Mick,

I think you said just what I was thinking , is it helping anyone or encouraging anyone was my concern. Of course that said I’m always open to suggestions how I may approach things.

Edited January 10, 2021 by Andymsa

[Satan's Goldfish]

Just stumbled over this one, very impressed with the standards of board construction, wiring, and modelling! I do have a soft spot for big room-filling Continental layouts so will be following with interest... and feeling ashamed at the lack of progress on my own layouts  Keep up the good work 

[St Enodoc]

On 10/11/2020 at 20:44, Andymsa said:

These photos show the various stages of L girder construction in the new extension, the photo makes it look narrower than it is 

Some excellent L-girder benchwork there, Andy. Most of the US references show the "lip" of the L-girder on the outside but you have put it on the inside (so have I by the way). It seemed neater to me but I wonder what the pros and cons are.

[BR60103]

I, too, just noticed the other thread.

I can't photograph (or model) well enough to dare posting.

I put my L-girder lip inwards -- the layout is laid on IKEA shelving. What I did find is that the lip needs to be wide enough to get the drill chuck up to it.

 

[Andymsa]

On 11/01/2021 at 02:43, BR60103 said:

I, too, just noticed the other thread.

I can't photograph (or model) well enough to dare posting.

I put my L-girder lip inwards -- the layout is laid on IKEA shelving. What I did find is that the lip needs to be wide enough to get the drill chuck up to it.

 

I have found L girder benchwork extremely flexible, when i originally started the planning I found this book from kalambac titled model railway benchwork by L wescott. Which described all the current methods at that time and seemed the best suited to my needs. The lip of the L is about 3/4 inch and as you have seen is mounted inwards, no issues with the drill chuck as I use those interchangeable screwdriver bits and for screwing into the lip I have various length extension bars. For even tighter areas I have a similar interchangeable socket Handel. I also use a selection of drill bits And counter sinks that fit.

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Andymsa

[Andymsa]

I thought a post the power tools that I use may be of assistance, I use various tools from a table saw to a fixed belt sander and plainer thicknesseser,  remains somewhat outside what the average modeller will use. More basic is a drill and a right angled drill, and a multi tool this is one of the most handy tools I have ever got and I don’t how I survived without one and of course a jigsaw. Occasionally I use a router when I can be bothered to set it up but the multi tool has reduced use of the router. I do use a hand sander and hand belt sander aswell. All the above may be overkill but it does make things so much easier. But even if you not got all these a good set of hand tools will not let you down and at times I still use them.

[Andymsa]

The next phase of the changes have now been completed. The track to the outside has been added, so it allows the 4 sidings to be multifunctional in that trains can enter from either end from different locations. In other words each siding is divided into two sections so two short commuter trains can be stored In each siding from one direction. Or one Long train can be stored from the other direction. It can be seen in one photo that there is a copper clad sleeper section, this is the method I use to transition from code 100 to code 83.

 

ps I can’t seem to do anything why the photos are on there side

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 28, 2021 by Andymsa

[Kris]

Only just seen this layout. The corner that you have completed with the trees looks fantastic and bodes well for the rest of the layout. You are very lucky to have the space that you have. 

[scottystitch]

Simply outstanding work so far.  Great ambition and very competent track laying.

 

Thanks for sharing!

 

Best

 

Scott.